For Her Sake
by ps01032160198913
Summary: He wondered if his life was going to consist of this - reruns of what he had recorded of her, going over photos of her, and while the rest of the world moved on, he wondered if he was able to do the same.
1. Chapter 1

_**As promised, here's a new story. Let me know what you think! :) Italicized = flashbacks**_

_** - Queen**_

* * *

_She smiled and pulled down her panties and quickly stashed them inside her purse. The sound of quick footsteps filled the room and Aria knew a stampede of women came in for the same reason; to do some touch ups before meeting with their loved ones. After being on an 18-hour flight, this bathroom break was very much needed. Aria left the stall and headed for the sink._

_With a little splash of cold water to her face, Aria felt more alive as she looked in the mirror and checked her face. Her eyes looked exhausted from the lack of sleep so she reached for her purse and took out her make-up kit. A moment later, with the decent amount of fixing, Aria licked her lips and looked at the mirror once again. Rosy cheeks, new cleaner darkened eyes, and redder lips, all ready to go._

She reluctantly did a side glance and saw him in his little booth, sitting alone and staring back at her. At first, the staring felt flattering, but it had been an hour since she last waited for his table and every time she would take a quick look at his table, his eyes always caught hers.

"Aria_—_" The bartender, her fellow co-worker, cocked his head at the man across the room.

She turned her head in his direction and forced a smile. "Right, yeah." She said to herself and walked off to the table. "How's everything goin' here?" She asked, putting on her friendliest voice along with her toothy grin.

The man beamed at her. "Wonderful. Thank you. I think I'm all set." The man reached for his back pocket, feeling for his wallet, and Aria forced a smile back and settled the cheque on his table. "Thank you." He said once again as he grabbed the little paper, his eyes not ready to leave her face yet.

"Sure, no problem." She said and quickly walked away, nervously huffing to herself. Then just a distance away, she saw one of the waitresses coming in for the next shift which meant hers was nearly over.

"Heyyy..." Hanna greeted in a cheery singsong voice.

"So glad you're here." Aria huffed out to her bubbly blonde friend.

"Why?" Hanna wondered and glanced over the room. "Doesn't look like a busy night."

"Try creepy."

Hanna chuckled. "One of _those_ nights, huh?" She commented as she put her golden locks in a ponytail. "Which one?"

"Table three."

"Hmm..." Hanna took one step back, slyly stealing a look at table three. "Table three you said?"

"Mhm-mhm." Aria replied and waited for her friend's reaction.

"_Him?_" Hanna repeated, squinting one eye. From her years of experience, strange men who usually came in had similar looks to them, but this one seemed like any other John Smith and far too handsome to be doing any cheap tricks on women, let alone a waitress.

"He's been staring at me the whole time."

Rolling her eyes, Hanna walked back into the deep side of the room for privacy. "You're not exactly a sore sight, hon." She pointed out while grabbing some menu folders from the shelf.

Aria groaned and gave her friend a look. "Yeah, well..."

Hanna looked up and saw their bartender gesturing for Aria. "I think one of your tables is ready for you."

_Ezra peered out the car window and saw a swarm of people spilling out of the exit doors and soon, her face would appear in the crowd. Lugging her carry-on bag, Aria skimmed over the cars and spotted his black Prius with its distinct window stickers; a female and a male stick figures._

_"C'mon, c'mon. I'm not supposed to park here." Ezra said as she rushed and threw the bags inside the backseat._

_Finally, Aria settled herself in the passenger seat and closed the door with great strength. She faced him and smiled. "How are you?"_

_He leaned across the seat and she instinctively copied him and the two met for a long, savory kiss, making up for their long separation._

_It had been over two and a half weeks since they last saw each other. Aria Montgomery, a photo journalist, was required to fly to different countries to attain current events. This had always bothered Ezra, knowing that she would be miles away from him with a high possibility that she would be sent somewhere dangerous and crowded. But he had to accept the fact that he did not have a say in it. She enjoyed her work and passion was not something he could nor wanted take away from her or from anybody in general._

_Aria held the side of his face and pulled back. "Ugh, I needed that."_

_"Why?"_

_"You know exactly why." She said and grinned at him as Ezra pulled her in again so he could plant one last kiss on her forehead._

_"That's a very seductive dress you've got on."_

_"You like it?" She asked as she touched the hem of her modern, maroon Chinese dress. It fitted her nicely and the fabric gave a smooth texture to it._

_"Like a proper mistress." He replied with a smile as she hit him with the back of her hand. "How was your flight? Better question, how well did you like the Asian culture?" He asked and drove out of the fire lane._

_Leaning against the headrest, Aria let out a soft sigh. "Good. No jet lags here, I don't think. For the latter part, what can I say? It was eye-opening." She answered with a light shrug._

_"You think you'll want to go back?"_

_"Definitely. Preferably with you...she says with pleading eyes." Aria joked and looked at him and Ezra let out a soft chuckle. "How's the apartment? Didn't burn down, I hope?"_

_"About that." He uttered causing Aria to sit up with a questioning posture._

_"...What'd you do?"_

_He shrugged, keeping his eyes on the road. "Absolutely nothing." He said although a small smirk managed to sneak in the midst of his sentence._

_"I'm gonna kill you if you painted our room yellow. That's not a funny joke, that's just creating more work." She said making him chuckle again. She rolled her eyes and went back to leaning her head against the soft headrest._

_"You're no fun." He joked._

_"Oh!" She sat up again. "I almost forgot."_

_"Forgot what?" He asked as he saw her stretching her body over the seat, reaching for something in the backseat._

_"This." She sat back down and revealed an ivy cap in her hands. "I got you this." She said as she patted the cap before placing it on his head. "That's cute." She said and out came a small giggle from her._

_"Great. All grown men want is to look cute." He remarked and Aria tilted her head at him. From the corner of his eye, he could see her glaring at him. "What? I didn't say I didn't like it."_

_"Yeah right." She said frustratedly and slumped back to her seat._

_Ezra threw his head back and glanced at her. "Babe, I like it. I do." He said and reached for her hand as she looked up at him with a smile this time._

_"It's made in China." She pointed out._

_"Everything's made in China."_

_They lived nearly forty five minutes away from the airport and Aria, the impatient human she always was, sat up and cleared her throat. It was dark out and she had been observing the road and at the moment, they were driving along the almost empty highway that was surrounded by a copious amount of autumn trees._

_"Can you pull over for a second?"_

_Ezra lowered his eyebrows at her and reluctantly put his foot off of the gas pedal. "What's the matter?"_

_"Just pull over..." She said and licked her lips._

_Her voice worried him and he could only assume that she was not feeling well and felt the need to take care of business outside the car. Pulling over, Ezra glanced out the window and saw at least two cars driving behind them. He turned back to Aria who was now unbuckling her seat belt. "What's wrong?"_

_Aria grabbed his cap and took it off, putting it on the dashboard. "Absolutely nothing." She mocked him with a wide smile as she grabbed his face with both hands and planted her lips hard against his. Aria excitedly moved over and settled herself on top of him as the steering wheel pressed hard against her lower back._

_"Oh man__—_" Ezra let out with arched eyebrows. "I'm being ambushed, aren't I?" He muttered and felt her laughing against his mouth.

_"C'mon. It's been a while." She told him and he nodded, reaching for the back of her neck so he could pull her in and kiss her harder. Aria reached down and unfastened his trousers as quickly as possible._

_"This is a lewd act we're committing__—_" He said as she pulled up her dress. "So you better hope_—_" Her mouth pressed harder against his, shutting him up. Ezra pulled back, catching his breath. "Those police cars aren't making their rounds tonight_—_" He smiled and Aria pulled him closer to her. "Because I am not taking any part of the blame." He panted in his sentence. "This is all your doing."

_"Right." Aria let out a soft laugh and bit her lips as she squirmed a bit, trying to find a comfortable spot since her back was awkwardly positioned against the wheel, hurting her now._

_Ezra widened his eyes as he realized she was not wearing anything under her dress. "You__—_" He breathed out and reached for the steering wheel, gripping it for support. "You planned all of this, didn't you?" He whispered.

_"Maybe__—_" She interrupted as she grabbed his hands and led them under her dress and up her navel.

_"You little minx." He breathed out under his breath before continuing._

_She laughed and leaned closer. "Yeah, but I'm your little minx so hush__—_" Aria shut her eyes, pressed her palm flat against the window and kissed him deeply.

"Come back soon." Aria feigned a smile for him as she collected the cheque.

The man stood up and put on his coat along with his gray ivy cap. "I definitely will." He replied with a reserved warm smile. "Have a good night."

"You too." She said as she watched him head for the doors. Widening her eyes, Aria shook her head and started to read the cheque. Aria creased her eyebrows at the figures. She let out a baffled sigh and looked at the $30 tip for her that the man had left. And for the first time, Aria did not feel flattered nor happy about this. In fact, it had distraught her to see a stranger ordering a ten dollar worth of meal and leaving that amount of tip just for her. Something inside her made it all feel wrong.

_Waking up from her short nap, Aria furrowed her brow and glanced out the window. "Where are we?" She asked as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes._

_"You'll see, won't you?" Ezra answered and got out of the car, expecting her to follow obediently._

_Looking around the neighborhood, Aria furrowed her brow deeply. She took note of the identical buildings, the perfectly positioned trees on each sidewalk, and the empty streets. She had realized that they were not in the city anymore, but the brick buildings still gave a New Yorker vibe to it so she knew they were not very far from the actual city._

_"What is this?" She asked and walked up to him. Ezra took her hand and led the way, heading off to one of the buildings._

_"Our new apartment. Two bedrooms. Unlimited supply of hot water. A small balcony." He informed her as they walked into the apartment._

_Aria's mouth dropped open and skimmed the place. "Ezra!" She let out and looked at him. "Why didn't you tell me!"_

_"I would've...but where's the fun in that?" He said and grinned widely. "I haven't brought the floor lamps yet so right now, we'll have to use the lights in the kitchen. I actually haven't brought a lot of things."_

_"That's okay." She told him and gave him a smile. "Unbelievable." She commented and looked around more._

_"Also, one tiny little disadvantage__—_" He said, gesturing with his fingers.

_"What?" She slowly questioned and watched him walk to the kitchen so he could turn on the lights._

_He turned the switch on and it provided enough brightness for them to see some colors. "The previous owners liked yellow."_

_"Ugh..." Aria reacted and scrunched her face at the walls that were all painted bright yellow as if someone had taken big barrels of mustard and got angry with the walls. "Turn the lights back off." She said and Ezra laughed as he switched them off again. "When did you do all of this?" She asked and walked to him._

_"A little over two hours ago."_

_"Two hours ago?" She repeated with her eyes wide as ever._

_"Wren and I didn't have to chance to drop off the boxes so that might be our agenda for tomorrow."_

_"And we're sleeping here already?"_

_He tilted his head at her. "Yeah...where else are you gonna go? Outdoors?" He jested and Aria sneered at him. "Don't worry, we'll survive the night. I got a bottle of your favorite wine and a big enough futon waiting for us in our room." He said, getting a little giggle out of her._

The stinging gust of wind made her cheeks and ears ache so she exhaled sharply, crossed her arms above her chest tighter and rushed for the bus stop. This was one of the reasons why she needed to get her license and save up for a car. Waiting for the bus so late at night had always terrified her, but with her situation at the moment, she was not given any other choices so every night she was forced to battle the cold and wait for her ride to come.

As she kept walking, she glanced to her side and noticed a slow Prius rolling beside her. Aria furrowed her brow and tried to take a clear look at the driver and as soon as she recognized the ivy cap, she turned her head away and picked her up her pace.

Reaching the bus stop, Aria stood there and swallowed hard. "C'mon..." She uttered under her breath and glanced up at the Prius heading in her direction. "No..." She grumbled and licked her lips nervously.

_He sat before her and cupped the back of her head, kissing the tip of her nose and quickly pulling back to steal a glance at her face._

_"Don't tease." She said softly and shook her head with a smile. She reached for the bottle and sipped some more wine then handed the bottle back to him._

_Ezra gave her a small smile and took a swig, emptying the bottle. He then wiped his mouth and looked at her. "I'm glad you're back." He said and put the bottle on the wooden floor. Carefully, he moved closer to her as she settled on her back against the small futon._

_"Me too." Aria whispered and pulled him for a kiss._

_Pulling his shirt over his head, Ezra grabbed her by her waist and pushed her up closer to the wall as they continued to kiss slowly and tenderly._

_"So you remembered to bring a bottle of Voulet, but you couldn't remember to bring the blankets." She mumbled against his mouth and felt him smiling back._

_"I buy you a new apartment and you're complaining about not having blankets." He remarked and pulled away. "What will it take to please you?"_

_Aria flashed a sly smile and nodded. "I love you." She said as if to apologize._

_"You better." He said and pulled her down by the legs, letting her butt rest on the edge of the futon as he knelt on the floor in front of her._

She made her way to the back of the bus and as soon as she was seated, Aria decided to take a look outside the window and saw the same Prius tailing the bus. A bit frantic now, Aria shut her eyes and hoped that the next time she decided to look outside again, the car would be gone.

Moments later, the bus had stop and Aria took another glance out the window and saw the same car just a few feet behind her.

Aria approached the bus driver and requested to be dropped off at the next stop which was only a few blocks away. At first, it seemed like a good idea to get off at a different stop, but Aria had realized she would have to walk all the way back and that sounded riskier however after checking one last time, she saw the Prius finally taking a right turn just a few streets away, giving her back her peace of mind.

_They untangled their arms and nuzzled each other for a more comfortable spot. Sighing, Ezra wrapped his arm around her tighter as she clutched onto him for warmth._

_"It's freezing." She complained and lifted her eyes at him with a faint scowl._

_Ezra took his other arm and embraced her closer while making a grumbling noise from the back of his throat. "Better?"_

_"Not really."_

_He let out a dry laugh and wrapped his legs around hers. "I'm trying my best here." Ezra stated and brushed his hand up and down against her arm, hoping to produce any type of warmth. Moving in without proper furniture and heating proved to be a bad idea. _

_"I know you are..." She said and took a deep breath, bracing the cold as it wafted across their naked bodies. "But fuck me-" She hissed at the temperature._

_"I don't know...I'm kinda exhausted." He joked and she rolled her eyes at him. Looking down at her, Ezra grinned and pressed his mouth against her forehead. "Just try and go to sleep, hmm?"_

_"Hmm." She repeated after him mockingly and squirmed once more. "Goodnight, Ezra."_

_"Goodnight, Aria..." He said in a singsong voice._

Turning the corner, Aria picked up her pace and glanced behind her, making sure nobody was following. She shook her head at her exaggeration as she hurried her way back to her apartment.

The building where she lived was the only building that didn't have any trees or decorations, not even metal fences to surround it. It stood out, seeing how every other building were identical; the designs, the colors, even the people. Mostly they were young couples with plans of having a small quiet family without completely disconnecting their lifestyle from the city. Some residents were just those who preferred to be alone, people who enjoyed the quiet nights without the subway noises outside their apartment and some residents were like her; simply neutral.

As Aria reached her street, her feet stopped to a sudden halt as her eyes spotted the Prius parked right across from her building. After a quick glance, she continued to head for the building and mustered enough courage to face whatever this person was trying to pull on her.

Aria took out her keys from her purse and walked up the small stairs that led to the building's main entrance. She shook the keys and nervously inserted the right one into the lock.

"C'mon..." She grumbled her breath as she jammed the key harder into the keyhole, getting frustrated by the seconds.

"Need some help?"

Aria jumped up a bit and turned around as quickly as possible. The lines on her forehead deepened as she stared at the man wearing this ivy cap, the same man who gave her an unreasonable amount of tip. "Oh, it's you. Sorry_—_" She said looking away and swallowed hard. She took the key out and reluctantly looked at him again.

"Let me give it a try." He gave a reassuring smile and stepped in closer.

"Uhh_—_" She exhaled sharply and forced a smile while he took his keys out of his pockets. "Wait, you live here?"

He turned to look at her, giving her a quick nod. "And I assume you as well?" He commented as he finally opened the door. With a smile, he faced her and held the door open, waiting for her to take the first step in.

Aria glanced back and forth at him and the door, still trying to absorb everything in and feeling foolish. "Yeah, I_—_" She gestured at the building. "I'm from 103." She informed him with a small smile.

"207. I'm just right above you, aren't I?" He replied as she stayed in the same spot, still sporting a hesitant look on her face. He glanced down and saw her chest heaving intensely. "Did I scare you? I didn't mean to. I kinda just assumed you've seen me here before. Back at the restaurant, you seemed very_—_"

"No, no, it's not you. I just_—_" She paused to take a breath. "It's fine. I'm just a bit neurotic these days. It's nothing, really."

He nodded at her. "Well..." He jingled the keys before putting them inside his pocket again.

"Yeah, I should_—_" She gestured at the building above her once again.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He said and watched her go in and he followed right after.

Aria turned around and saw him looking back at her. "How come I've never seen you around before?" She asked and for a moment, his blue eyes gave off an aching glint as if she had said something wrong.

With a light shrug, he rubbed his chin. "I don't know. Poor timing perhaps."

"I guess so." Her lips twitched into a smile. "I'm Aria, by the way." She said as he approached her.

"I know." He told her, surprising her a bit and before she could jump into conclusions, he shook his head. "You told me back at the restaurant, remember? You waited my table."

"Oh!" She exclaimed and let out an embarrassed chuckle. "Well, I never got yours."

He tilted his head to the side and licked his lips. Taking off his cap, he rubbed his forehead for a second. "Ezra. My name's Ezra." He answered and clutched onto the cap, pressing it against his chest.

"I never would have guessed that in a million years." She jested and extended her hand at him. "It's nice to meet you." She said softly and waited patiently for him to take her hand.

Looking down, Ezra furrowed his brow and cleared his throat. "You too." He said while taking her small hand into his. He kept his eyes on her hand, keeping his grip snug and firm as she grew a little puzzled the longer he held on.

After a while, she apprehensively pulled her hand back. "Goodnight, Ezra." She said, keeping her voice light and friendly with her best attempt of concealing the discomfort in her tone.

"Goodnight, Aria." He quickly responded and watched her go to the other end of the hallway. Ezra clutched onto the ivy cap harder before putting it back on.


	2. Chapter 2

**Can't promise a happy _or_ sad ending with this one. You'll just have to be patient with me and read on... :D - Queen**

* * *

_"Hello there, love!" He greeted with a wide smile as he stepped inside, carrying a heavy box in his hands._

_"Hey, Wren. How are you?" Aria grinned and closed the door behind him._

_Wren placed the box on the floor and went up to her. "Fantastic." He placed his hands on her shoulders and kissed her on both cheeks then hugged her tightly._

_"Somebody's happy to see me."_

_"I am! I've missed you! How was the travel?"_

_She let out a soft chuckle. "It was good, yeah." She simply said. "I'd tell you all about it but-" She raised her arms to her side then shrugged. "Busy day."_

_"That's alright. I have all the time in the world."_

_"But I don't."_

_Wren chuckled at her. "Always so impatient, hmm?" He exhaled sharply._

_"Now, which box is that?" She said, pointing down at it._

_"Box three, I believe?" He said and lifted the box again. "Where does that go?" He asked as he waited patiently, watching her think for a moment._

_Wren did always admire her way of thinking. She was often, if not always, very neat and organized with her things; a quality Wren didn't seem to attain over the years, but seeing how he had managed to become a doctor was good enough for him._

_"Kitchen." She began to lead the way. "Thanks for doing this again." She said and turned to him._

_He placed the box on the kitchen floor. "Oh, it's no problem. Anything for you. And Ezra, I suppose." He joked and flashed his crooked smile and Aria returned the same smile._

_"Alrighty, kids, food's here!" Ezra announced from the living room. Immediately, Wren watched Aria trail off, leaving him in the kitchen._

The cart swerved smoothly against the shined floor. It was a school day off so Ezra grabbed the opportunity to stock up on groceries that would last for about two or three weeks. He didn't need much, not for himself anyway, but nowadays, he took care of someone more significant than himself, someone that meant more to him than anything else in the world.

"You like this one?" Ezra said with a small smile, displaying a Gerber finger-bite snack in a small slender tube. "Banana or strawberry?" He said as he picked up the strawberry flavored one and showed it in front of her.

He leaned in, putting his elbows against the cart and planted a kiss on his baby's forehead. "You know what, we'll get both." He said and threw two tubes into the cart.

_"Hmmm..." Aria giggled against his chin as he leaned against the kitchen counter while she kissed him continuously._

_"Never gonna get anything done around here if you keep doing this." Ezra murmured and rested his hands on her waist._

_"I know." Wren said, clearing his throat at them. "Look, you lot, this isn't my apartment. I have other things to do so if you're-"_

_Moving away from him, Aria approached Wren this time. "Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry." She tilted her head at him sympathetically. "Behaving now. Promise." She said as she pressed her lips together._

_"There's one more box waiting downstairs." Wren announced as he headed for the living room to take care of the other boxes._

_Aria turned to look at Ezra, raising her eyebrows as a way to mock Wren's little spaz._

_"Now, look what you've done, you've upset the doctor." Ezra remarked, making her laugh under her breath._

He slowly stopped his cart as he looked ahead, recognizing her hair and her body frame. It was no coincidence to spot her here. The Green's Market held a lovely reputation with their fresh products and well-kept atmosphere. No other markets lived up to the expectation and Ezra, with his fond memories in this very location, had grown to be loyal to the market and didn't see the point of going to different ones. Plus, it was the closest one to their building.

"Hello there..." He said a bit reluctant although he was certain enough that it would be her.

Aria turned around and smiled instantly. It was a different smile, Ezra noticed. It was comfortable and sure, a lot different from the other night.

"Hi." She greeted and glanced at his cart, seeing a rather calm and busy little baby sitting in the cart with her little baby seat and belt. "Oh, wow-" Her smile stretched wider and Ezra looked at her face and back to his cart, realizing what she was beaming at. "She's adorable." Aria gushed and smiled up at him.

Ezra took a deep breath and nodded shyly and before he could say anything, Aria had taken closer steps toward his cart to play with his daughter.

"She's in a good mood." He commented and watched the two play with each other with ease as if they had known each other before.

"I didn't know you have-" Aria started and stopped herself, straightening up again to talk to him. "She's yours, right?" She shook her head immediately. "Sorry that was...ignore that-"

"No, yeah, yeah." He gestured with his hand. "She's all mine." He answered and gazed at his baby and back at Aria.

"She's gorgeous. She looks a lot like you." Aria pointed out and Ezra gave a smile although he fully disagreed. She noticed his cart, seeing a stack of chocolate creme pie. "Have enough pies there?" She jested, cocking her head toward the cart.

Ezra let out a short laugh. "It's good. What can I say?" He paused for a second. "You should have some. You'll probably like it."

"What makes you so sure I'll like it?" She squinted at him with a playful smile plastered upon her face.

"What's not to like about creme pies?"

"So good that you need to have a year supply of 'em?" She joked. "You left some for others, didn't you?" She pointed behind her, implying the freezer aisle.

Ezra shrugged. "It's a-" He licked his lips then shrugged again. "Just became a habit."

_"I should call up Spencer-"_

_"I thought she was still away?" He turned his head at her. "Is she back?"_

_"In a few days, but you never know." She shrugged. "Maybe we can throw a little housewarming party-"_

_"Uhh, not with these walls. Look at it."_

_Aria sighed. "Right. Well, tomorrow we can paint it. It can't be that hard."_

_"We have to buy some tarps before we can start painting. The landlord's not gonna be too happy seeing paint droplets all over his carpet." He said, putting his hand on his waist as they stood beside each other, observing the yellow walls._

_"I think throwing buckets of white paint all over it will do as well. More efficient too." Aria stated, sneering at the color. "How long before we get settled in?"_

_"Patience." He jutted his head at her. "Ever heard of that?"_

_"No, fortunately, I haven't." She said, rolling her eyes at him. "Can we just take a break?" She pleaded and slid her arm around his waist with her head tipping up at him. "The PDA police just left for his night shift."_

_He squinted at her. "PDA who?"_

_"Wren." She tilted her head. "I think we're safe." She jested, reminding Ezra that he would need to treat Wren to something for helping them move in. A few drinks always satisfied him well enough; after all, an English man couldn't possibly turn down a drink, it was his second nature._

_"I thought we were finished christening the place." Ezra added._

_"Not the balcony." She wiggled her eyebrows at him and took his hand._

_"Not the balc-" He repeated and nodded, letting her lead the way._

He furrowed his brow at her while she got up from the couch and approached him with open arms.

"You should have called." Ezra stated as he kept his daughter close and safe in his arm while carrying some grocery bags in the other hand. "I didn't know you were coming. I would have made-"

"Oh, don't bother." She said and kissed him in the cheek. "I've already made your favorite. It's in the oven." She told him as she took his baby out of his arms with ease.

"I wasn't gone that long, was I?" Ezra glanced around then back at the two. He quickly headed for the kitchen so he could put away the bags before engaging in a chatter with his very unpredictable mother.

Their relationship dangled between hot and cold; sometimes they got along well enough, but other times they didn't get along at all. She was the type of person who frequently did things with a motive such as this, dropping in on her son to also check on her grandchild and pry on their lives. Moreover, Ezra knew well that she judged things from the surface. If the furniture in his living room seemed dusty, that would lead her to believe that he was losing grip of everything. She was a worrier, sometimes with unnecessary exaggeration, but nevertheless, her care was always genuine.

"Hellooo sweetie, my precious little flower." Her lips curled into a warm smile. "I've missed my little sunshine, haven't I?" She kissed her granddaughter's cheeks and raised her a little above her head and poured more kisses all over her soft face.

"So, what's up?" Ezra said as he returned to join them in the living room.

She brought the baby back down, leveling her eyes with hers and stared. "Good heavens, she's turning out to look like her mother each day, isn't she?" She pointed out as she gazed into the baby's big hazel eyes. She turned to her son and gave him a serious look. "How are you?"

Ezra jutted his head at her as a warning, implying her to not start whatever she was planning to start. "Ma, I'm fine. We're fine." He said, gesturing at his child.

"Well, pardon me. I wasn't aware it was a crime for a mother to wanna check up on her only son and granddaughter."

He exhaled sharply, surrendering. "Well, what brings you here? Other than harassing my daughter." He quipped and sat himself down, needing a rest after a long day.

"Oh, I just felt the need to stop by. All because of this little one. I've missed my little angel." She turned to her grandchild once again and brushed her nose against hers. "Isn't that right? Did you miss your sweet old mimi 'cause she-" She paused and tapped the baby's nose. "Misses." Another tap. "You!" She grinned as the baby squealed into a smile just as big as her grandmother's while squirming in her arms. It was clear that the baby was heavily familiar with her grandmother.

Leaning against the couch, Ezra couldn't help but smile at the two. It was always a sight to see his own child smiling; it was either that or a whole night of nonstop shrill crying.

"How's the house up there?" Ezra asked and brushed the top of his head, tousling his hair.

"Well taken care of. What do you think of me? Weak? Old?"

"Eh, take your pick." He smiled at her again. "It's getting dark soon. The guest room's set if you plan on staying long." He told her then pointed at his daughter. "She wouldn't mind seeing another familiar face."

Ezra's mother lifted his daughter higher then brought her back down, almost bench pressing the baby's little body. "Has she lost weight? Have you been feeding her right?"

Suddenly, Ezra got up from the couch and glared at his mother. "Why would you think that?" He said and stepped closer.

"She feels light."

Ezra took his daughter while keeping his glare on his mother. "Don't start, Ma." He retorted and gently rocked his daughter in his arms. "If you think I'm so incompetent-"

"I never said that you-"

"Well, you might as well have!" He cut off and scoffed at her. "I don't need you to say it. I know exactly what you're thinking."

"Stop acting like a child, Ezra. You're not a little boy anymore. You have a daughter for heaven's sake." She scolded. "And I have not uttered a word about the way you-"

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Actually, you know what, I'd rather you don't stay." He sighed deeply. "My daughter and I are better off with just the two of us." He said, clenching his jaw. "And I really don't need this right now. On top of everything else, so."

"You've become nothing but volatile ever since..." She remarked and Ezra shot her another warning glare. She shut her eyes for a quick second and realized it was time to apologize. "You're my son and I would never...discourage you or kick you when you're down-" She shook her head and felt a little troubled with her words. She then took a deep breath, giving in and looked at him square in the eyes. "You're going to be a wonderful father. You already are a wonderful father."

"I don't need you to validate that for me." He said solidly as his daughter made some soft sounds to her oblivion. "Thank you for the food." He added.

She licked her lips and stepped up to him and began to run her palm up and down her grandchild's back, planting a few goodbye kisses there. "I'll see you soon, my little flower." She said against the clothing and smiled to herself. She straightened up and gave her son a soft, remorseful look before leaving the apartment.

_Their feet shuffled against the tarps, messing them all over the place. The walls, starting in the living room, were far from being finished. Aria and Ezra both wielded a paint roller and decided to focus on one side of the room first._

_"You're getting it all in my hair!" Aria laughed and felt the paint roller against her back and shoulders as Ezra kept her trapped and pressed against the wet wall. "You're such an asshole." She said under her breath while the side of her face became wet with paint._

_"Is this not how you paint?" He teased and rolled the brush over her other arm, painting it completely white. "Hmm? Wax on..." He brushed the paint up her arm. "Wax off?" Then back down her arm again. "Is this how you-"_

_"Ezra!" She said once again as her nose got a huge whiff of the fresh paint fumes and she knew right then what was going to happen next. Aria pushed him off with full strength this time and sat on the floor, feeling her chest quickly closing in._

_"You okay?" Ezra asked with lowered eyebrows and Aria shook her head in response as her wheezing gradually got louder and severe. The more the fumes wafted in her direction each time she inhaled. "Where'd you put it?" He asked with an alarmed voice. "Is it in your purse?" He said leaning down while her chest continued to heave. He held the side of her face and made her look at him. "Aria, did you leave it in your purse?" He asked again and she nodded vigorously. "Okay, just relax, okay? I'll be right back."_

_A moment later, Ezra had returned with her inhaler and rushed it to her. He watched her take a breath in, slowly retrieving herself. Ever since she was little, her asthma never got better, in fact, it had gotten worse over the years. Moments later, she glared at him as he offered an apprehensive and guilty smile in return._

_"That could've been murder." She remarked with her breath almost back to normal._

_He brought his hands up, wiping the paint off of her face. "Sorry."_

_"Sorry?" She cocked her head at him. "Is that what you're gonna say after you unintentionally kill me next time? 'Oh, sorry.'..." She mocked._

_"Who said it'll be unintentional next time?" He grinned mischievously at her._

_Aria pushed him away and stood up. "Okay, I'm done with this." She said gesturing at the paint and the walls._

_"What?" He let out, his voice in a slight high pitch. "Who's gonna help me finish all of this?"_

_"Oh I don't know! Maybe next time-" She threw her arms up. "Before you fucking paint someone, make sure they don't have asthma." She snapped as she walked away._

_"Hey! You volunteered!" Ezra shouted after her, pointing the roller at her as she disappeared into the kitchen hallway._

He slouched over the seat and watched her squirm inside her crib. Sighing deeply, Ezra rubbed his face with both hands and glanced at his night stand, seeing his messenger bag. The struggle of juggling his work and his child was yet to be perfected. Ezra had accepted the fact that he needed some help and that waking up late and arriving to work consecutively would cost him sometime in the future.

Walking up to her crib, Ezra looked down and saw her staring widely back at him. "We need to get you a babysitter before this break is over..." He told her as if she understood word for word, but she cooed and flailed her tiny arms, beckoning for him to pick her up. "Okay, okay..." He said and gingerly scooped her out of her crib.

It was already eight o'clock and her bedtime was usually around seven. Ezra learned it was not best for her to nap during the day, or late afternoons if he wanted her to sleep in early.

So, to entertain her for maybe half an hour, they left their apartment and walked to the lobby, pacing back and forth and observing whatever there was left to observe which was really not much.

Ezra noticed her eyes glued to the elevator. "You wanna go for a ride in the elevator?" He whispered against her cheek and smiled. "No, there's only four floors. It's not that fun." He glanced at the elevator and back at his child whose eyes did not leave the elevator doors. "Okay, maybe just one. If it will stop you from badgering me with your broad vocabulary and profane hand gestures. It's a bit unsettling, to be honest. " He quipped and approached the doors and it opened slowly so he backed away for a moment.

As the doors fully parted, she did a small double take. "...Hey." Aria said softly and smiled at them.

"Hello there." Ezra replied and quickly glanced down. "Say hi to the nice woman who lives just a floor below us, honey." He said, brushing his fingers against his baby's arms. "Hi, Aria." He spoke for her and felt his child threshing excitedly.

Aria grinned widely and leaned down a bit. "Aw, you remember me?" She cooed at the baby as Ezra watched closely, his eyes narrowing in on them.

Clearing his throat, Ezra licked his lips and forced a smile. "You're uh...going out? To work, I mean. I remember the uniform-" He shyly pointed at her outfit.

"Yeah, I am." She said and stepped back a bit. "Night shift." She tilted her head.

"Ahh." He said, nodding slowly. "Are you taking the bus there?"

"So, you've noticed that too." She let out a small, bashful smile.

Reluctantly, Ezra nodded. "I did. I saw you the other day, waiting in the shed." He admitted and studied her face, hoping the little confession did not make her uncomfortable.

"Yep." She replied and forced a smile. "I should go. I gotta catch the next-" She pointed with her thumb over her shoulder.

"Okay." He said and smiled back as the baby continued to squirm in his arms. "Say bye-bye." He whispered at his baby, rocking her for a quick moment.

"Bye-bye, cutie pie." Aria said to the baby and waved a little and instantly, the baby broke out into a cry.

"Shh, shh, shh. No, no. Sorry." He said to Aria and continued on with his rocking.

"Oh, no..." Aria made a face and felt a bit too guilty to just walk away especially when the baby was waving her arms at her, wanting to be carried by someone other than her own father. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, not your fault." Ezra bit his lips as the cry got louder, echoing through the hallways. "Umm, could I offer you a ride to work? It might stop her from crying. She's very bored, very easily and I don't think she wants to leave you yet." He said with a hesitant and nervous smile.

"Umm-" Aria glanced at the main doors and looked at him. "Yeah, sure, if it's no trouble." She shrugged. "Do you need to get a car seat or anything? A bottle of milk?" She wrinkled her face.

"No, it's alright. We won't be long and the car seat's already there." They looked at each other for confirmation. "Should we go? I don't want to make you late."

"Okay, yeah. Thank you."

Aria decided to stay in the backseat with the baby and surprisingly enough, this helped stop the crying. Aria played with the baby's tiny fingers as she kicked her small feet with excitement.

"Is she always like this?" Aria asked and glanced up at him.

"Hmm?" Ezra took a look at them through the rearview mirror.

"Is she always so friendly and active?"

Ezra smiled to himself. "Not really. Not even with me." He joked. "No, I think she's just taking a real liking to you." He said and Aria felt the need to smile again, feeling flattered at the idea that someone would fancy her especially a baby. It wasn't always so easy to be a favor to them.

"I'm sure she likes you as well." Aria commented. "I mean, you do spend all day with her. Are you a work at home dad?"

"No, I teach English at a private university, just about 45 minutes away from here . So, we get just about eight hours of separation, five days a week. Dealing with bigger kids, but so far, I haven't made any of them cry yet." He let a light laugh. "Unlike that little girl next to you." He beamed at her and his child.

This made her look up for a moment. "Oh, that's-" She let out and nodded anyway although she was still a bit confused. "Who looks after her within those hours?"

"Well, it's semester break so I've been lucky enough to spend my days with her." He answered. "But once things are back on track, that's when the real problem starts."

"That must be tough with just you two." Aria stated while still playing with the baby's fingers, intertwining and hugging them inside her palm from time to time.

Ezra stayed quiet and looked straight ahead, keeping his eyes on the road. "Uhh..." He breathed out, blinking a few times and shuffling in his seat.

Noticing his changes in posture, Aria pressed her lips together and knew she probably had said something wrong. "If she needs looking after, I'm free during the day." She quickly said. "Since I work nights most of the time anyway."

Raising his eyebrows with such realization, Ezra sighed out. "Would-" He broke out into an uncontrollable smile. "That'd be really great. I was actually just planning to find her a sitter-" He looked at her through the mirror again and their eyes met for a second. "But would you really be into that? I gotta warn you, she's quite a handful."

"Definitely, yeah." She simply said.

"If you don't mind, that would really help. Whatever rate per hour, or anything, anything at all." He said eagerly. "She already likes you, that we wont have to worry about." He added, trying to calm himself down a bit and hoped he was not scaring her away.

Aria chuckled softly. "The feelings are very very much mutual, aren't they cutie pie?" She leaned closer to the baby's face and smiled. "We'll have a very fun time while your daddy is away." Aria said and let a soft laugh.

Smirking to himself, Ezra felt the weight on his shoulders dissolving as the streetlights bounced off of the cars and the buildings, illuminating the quiet and tranquil road.


	3. Chapter 3

**_As always, italicized = flashbacks. ;) _****_And seems to me like someone's got it. It shouldn't be that hard to get. Thank you all for reviewing. It's very very sweet. _**

**_- Queen_**

* * *

_It had taken them over a month to get everything settled in. The apartment had appeared smaller with all the furniture in place and their belongings in every room. The living room had two long leather couches, a minimalist coffee table with slim legs which was evidently Aria's doing, and an enormous bookcase up against the wall - both of their doing this time. The couple had a 32 inch television that they used very rarely, sometimes only on occasions, mostly for Ezra's side job - a small job that required him to film small events ranging from private weddings to birthdays and sometimes, he would film things just for his own pleasure._

_He lay on the couch and fiddled with his camera, going over the pictures he had taken during the construction of their apartment._

_Aria walked in with a purse dangling by her side, her hair all styled neatly, catching Ezra's attention._

_"Where you off to?" He said as he sat up, putting the camera on the side._

_"Meeting Spence and Hanna for lunch." Aria said as if she had told him before._

_"Spencer's back?"_

_Aria rolled her head to one side. "I told you this before."_

_"You did?"_

_She rolled her eyes. "I'll tell her you said hi." She told him with a wry smile and immediately left the apartment._

He grabbed a couple of glasses from the cabinet and quickly headed back to the dining room where Aria waited.

"She's a heavy sleeper so you won't have to worry about making loud noises." Ezra informed Aria as he placed the glasses on the table and twisted the bottle of Voulet open.

"I-" Aria began to say, gesturing at the bottle of wine. "I don't drink." She reluctantly said before he could pour some into her glass.

"Oh." He said and looked at her for a moment then brought the bottle to his glass, pouring himself some. "Do you want something else? Water?"

"No, I'm okay." She smiled.

"I'll be right back then." He said and ambled to the kitchen with the bottle and his glass of wine.

He put the bottle back on the counter, nonchalantly running his eyes over the words on the label. Wiping his mouth, he reached for the glass and quickly drank it until it was down to its last drop.

_"You have to help me." Aria said as they sat across from each other with their food in front of them._

_Spencer moved her head to the side and squinted. "With what?"_

_"Throw a housewarming party."_

_"When?"_

_"Tomorrow."_

_"Tomorrow?" Spencer exclaimed. "Aria, I just got back and you want me to-"_

_"Relax, I just need you to call up and invite some people. I'll take care of everything else." Aria groaned._

_"Fine." Spencer said and looked up at Hanna who was now walking to them with their dessert._

_Hanna sat back down. "You guys can't keep doing this and expecting freebies." She stated. "He's starting to get suspicious. Next time, he's gonna start asking where all the cheesecake went."_

_Spencer and Aria laughed in unison. Hanna's boyfriend owned the restaurant and she inevitably became a second hand beside him. It was an advantage, for Spencer and Aria anyway._

_Aria reached for the plate and sliced herself a piece of cheesecake. As it got closer to her mouth, she quickly brought the fork back down and covered her mouth._

_"What's wrong? Has it gone bad?" Hanna asked and Spencer watched Aria's uneasy face._

_"N-no." Aria let out and grabbed the napkin, pressing it against her mouth. "Oh..." She sighed out and put the napkin back on the table. The smell made her stomach unusually queasy._

_Spencer took a bite and slowly studied the taste. "It's fine. Like always." She said. "What's wrong?"_

_Shaking her head, Aria shut her eyes for a second and brought the napkin back to her mouth and made a sound._

_"Whoa, whoa, okay, if you have to barf, please go to the bathroom."_

_"I second that." Spencer said and got up. "Come on, you." She cocked her head at Aria, extending her arm out for her._

_Aria washed her mouth as she bent over the sink while Spencer watched warily beside her._

_"Got that all out?" Spencer asked and crossed her arms above her chest._

_"Yeah, I'm good."_

_"What was that all about?"_

_Aria looked at her friend with a clueless expression on her face. "You tell me." She said and glanced at the mirror, seeing her slightly pale face. "That's never happened before and I fucking love that cheesecake."_

_"Well, you clearly just ate too much. It's just a food baby." Spencer commented and kept her eyes glued on her friend._

_Aria straightened up and looked back at Spencer with widened eyes. "What'd you say?"_

_"I said it-"_

_"No, I heard you just fine, Spence."_

_Spencer furrowed her brow and examined Aria's face once again and very slowly, the idea cleared in her mind. "Holy-" She exhaled. "No. No." She whispered under her breath. "You?"_

_"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Aria retorted. "And no. No." Aria repeated with doubt in her voice. "No?" She arched her eyebrows._

_"Why are you asking me? I just got back!" Spencer said throwing her hands up._

_Aria took a moment to think things over. After a long contemplation, Aria turned around and leaned against the counter, quietly staring at Spencer. "Yeah." She finally said._

_"Yeah?"_

_"Maybe." She glanced up at the ceiling. "Shit, I don't know. I can't remember my last period."_

_"We'll go to the store, pick up a kit, and find out. I'll drive...in case you feel like throwing up again." Spencer said and gestured with her hands. "C'mon, hand me your car keys."_

_Aria looked at her and swallowed hard. "Okay."_

From afar, he stayed inside the car and carefully watched Ezra who was now fixing his child in the backseat. Saturday afternoons were usually reserved for parks and eating outdoors. Sometimes, on good days, they would drop by their grandmother for a little visit. This was their father and daughter routine and he knew it well, he had to if he wanted to keep himself out of the radar.

As soon as Ezra drove off, Wren got out of his car and approached the building.

Dragging the trash bags behind her, Aria opened the main doors and bumped into Wren who held the door open for her. Right on time as he expected.

"Thanks." She flashed a smile and continued on dragging the heavy trash bags.

"Need an extra hand?" Wren inquired and grabbed one of the bags without letting her answer.

"Oh, uh-" She said and saw him already off with her bag. His accent caught her full attention. Aria deduced that he was not from around here. "Thanks again." She said as they both walked around the building where the dumpsters were located.

With effort, Wren threw the bag into the green dumpster and reached for her bag, throwing it as well. He clapped his hands together, dusting it off.

"I'm Wren." He extended his hand as she gave a twitching smile, glancing at his hand and the dumpster next to her. "Right. Not sterile. Sorry." He said and she began to walk back so he followed. "As a doctor, I should've known better, right?" He added with a light chuckle that came from the back of his throat, feeling rather shameful for pulling the doctor card, but it always worked for him.

They reached the main doors and Aria stopped to look at him. "You work at St. John's?" She kept the door open and they remained just outside, quietly agreeing for a small chat.

"I do. How'd you know?" He answered, his surprised smile was crooked and bright.

Aria tried to stifle her smile. Sometimes, she believed it was good to reserve some for more important occasions. Other times, she reserved it to stop herself from looking a little boastful. "I figured it was the closest one from here." She pressed her lips together. "...Or the fact that you're still wearing your tag." She pointed at his chest with the laminated identification card dangling from his shirt.

Snorting a chuckle, Wren nodded bashfully, and took the card and tore it off. "Thanks."

"Anytime." She slowly crossed her arms above her chest, feeling the wind gusting in their direction.

"Do you think you can spare me some hand sanitizer?" He asked, showing his hands and reminding her of the possible germs living there now.

"Um..." Aria swayed her head indecisively. "Sure." She shrugged and flashed a quick smile. "Come on in."

_After doing all the steps instructed in the box, they waited inside the store's bathroom. Aria tapped her foot nervously while Spencer paced back and forth._

_"Fucking, how long does it take-" Aria snapped and shook the little stick._

_Spencer shook her head at Aria's patience. "Take it easy. Give it a few minutes." She said and checked her watch. "Actually, just one more minute." She announced and gave Aria a look, knowing her life would probably change in that very minute._

_Aria breathed deeply and stared at the stick. The sign appeared gradually, giving her the result. She opened her mouth for a second and blinked a few times, taking it all in. "Hmm..." She softly let out and lifted her eyes at Spencer. "Yeah." She simply said._

_Keeping her composure, Spencer bit her lips. "Wow."_

_Without wasting time, Aria headed out and continued to walk with a quick pace. She sighed and glanced down at the stick again and put it in her pocket._

_Spencer caught up beside her. "I wonder who the father is." She joked to ease up the tension._

_"That's not funny, Spence." Aria rubbed her temple and continued to walk without looking back._

_"It's kinda funny." She pointed out. "Someone as tiny as you, it's pretty hilarious."_

_Aria stopped in her tracks and tilted her head to the side, giving Spencer a long and hard glare before bursting into laughter. "Oh fuck-" She ran her hands over her face. "Can you imagine telling your kid that she was conceived in the car?"_

_"Now, why would you ever tell your kid where-" She stopped. There came a beat. Spencer uncrossed her arms and lowered her brow at Aria. "You guys fucked in the car?" She asked again. "The same car? The one that I just drove?"_

_"Maybe." Aria said teasingly and began walking again._

_"That's not funny, Aria."_

_"It's kinda funny." Aria remarked. "Actually, it's pretty hilarious-" She turned to Spencer again, backfiring her words just a second ago. "Because we did do it in the car about a month ago." She wiggled her eyebrows and stifled a laugh as Spencer made a disgusted look._

_"At least tell me you did in the backseat." Spencer added._

_"No, we-" She stopped herself. "Okay." Aria replied coyly, biting her lower lip as they exchanged glances._

_Spencer sneered. "Aria!" She exclaimed, knowing very well that her friend was lying._

_"Look, do you want me to drive?" She chuckled and stopped before her, beckoning for the car keys._

_"Yeah, let me get a cab on the way out too." Spencer chided as they both continued on walking._

"That's a lovely painting." He said in a fairly high volume so she could hear him well enough while she was a distance away, grabbing the sanitizer. He examined the painting of a young woman, eating alone at an automat. "It's umm..." He jogged through his memories, trying to recall the painter. "Hopper, yeah?"

Aria approached him, holding a bottle of the sanitizer. "Edward Hopper. Hmm." She told him and forced a smile as she handed him the bottle.

"It's a bit sad, isn't it?"

"Is it?" She turned to look at the painting although she knew it by heart, every inch and every stroke of it. She shrugged it off and turned to him, waiting for this stranger to leave her apartment. Aria watched his hands as he nonchalantly rubbed them together almost too gracefully.

"You're a fan of Hopper?" He continued on and gazed at her.

"I don't dislike him." She said. "It's not mine." She revealed. "The painting. My friend gave it to me, told me this apartment felt too empty. So, now the painting hangs on the wall." She breathed deeply. "Did you stop by to visit someone? I remember you coming in before you took the bag out of my hands." She forced a smile, not wanting to seem rude.

"Oh, I-" Wren reluctantly spoke. He wanted to tell her that this was the reason why he stopped by, but he knew that wouldn't turn out well. "He's probably gone off now." He excused and held her eyes and very carefully, he offered a smile and bent his knees a little to level with her height. "This might sound a little weird, but would you possibly care for a coffee? I know a cafe just nearby. One of the best in the city." He said although making up the last fact.

What a strange day it had been and it wasn't even late afternoon yet. Aria moved her lips to the side, considering the offer.

_"How are you planning on telling him?" She asked as she stayed seated in the backseat after having a childish quarrel with her._

_Aria glanced at the rearview mirror. "You look ridiculous back there, you know that right?" She let out a soft chuckle. "And..." She sighed through her nose. "I guess it'll be more than a housewarming party." She said with a shrug._

_Spencer raised her eyebrows. "That's a bit extravagant, don't you think?" She pointed out. "You can't just go up there in front of everyone without telling him first."_

_"Well, the element of surprise will show me his true colors."_

_"And what happens if you don't like those colors?"_

_Aria glared at her for a moment. "Spencer, Ezra isn't some guy I just met and slept with all on the same night."_

_"Nooo, that was how you met him. Remember?"_

_"Yes, thank you for reminding me." She wrinkled her face at her. "And we didn't sleep together." She pointed out. "...Not right away." She trailed off and felt tired of the conversation._

_"Poor guy doesn't know he's being thrown a surprise party too." Spencer muttered._

His smile never left his face. Perhaps this would win her over. He had been told it was a million dollar smile, charming and kind all at once.

"Thanks." Aria wrapped her hands around the hot cup of coffee.

Wren sat across from her and watched her take a timid sip. The way she carried herself was different than how he had always known her. She was quiet, everything about her was quiet; her hair, her breasts, her shoulders that slouched a little bit, and now even her voice which rarely raised even by the tiniest decibel.

"So, exactly what piece of furniture was actually yours back there?" He inquired, looking at her intently.

"Why do you ask?"

"Hmm..." His eyes danced a bit. "I suppose I'm looking for a personality."

"Am I not showing enough personality now?"

He licked his lips. "The truth?"

"Always." She quickly said.

They sat in silence for a bit. Aria could see he was a bit reluctant or rather careful with what he was going to say next which made her more excited.

"Not really." He squinted his eyes a bit, anticipating her to react offensively.

Aria tipped her head back, nodding slowly. "Good." She told him with a quick smile, making him smile as well.

_Around twenty people came and dispersed in their apartment, boxed in like little sardines however the fun grew as the apartment shrunk._

_"Hey there, sweetheart. A little gift for your new humble abode!" Wren approached Aria with a wrapped present. "Open it."_

_Aria's eyes glittered up at him with excitement as she ripped the wrapping paper. She took a second to figure out what it was then a smile crawled up on her face. "My own personalized bathroom towels." She snickered._

_"Yes, it's a full set. It even has your name embroidered on it and everything." Wren eagerly pointed out as he turned one of the cloths for her to see. 'A.M' engraving up front then at the back, her full name in nice maroon cursive._

_"Did you get one for Ezra?"_

_Wren pressed his lips together and wrinkled his nose. "Guys don't really go for customized toiletries, I'm afraid." He pointed out and Aria giggled at him._

_"Thank you. This is wonderful, really, really wonderful." Aria said as she pulled him for a hug. "I will use it 'til death do us part." She touched his back. "Come get a drink with me."_

_"Ah, no, I'm alright. I can't actually. I've got a shift in a few hours."_

_"I thought you already worked double this morning."_

_"I did. But you know how it is, can't pass up an opportunity. I have a flat to take care of and an unfathomable amount of tuition left to pay. I'm starting to think I only became a doctor just so I can pay the school back." He told her, making her laugh for a second. "Don't worry, I won't disappear for your party. I doubt anybody will call me right now."_

_"Well, you know, take it easy. You look exhausted." She commented as Wren glanced ahead._

_"Hell, I haven't had a proper sleep for days."_

_"Oh, Wren, why did you come then? You didn't have to."_

_"Wanted to give you the present myself." He told her and she couldn't do anything but smile. "But do you mind me stealing a nap during this-" He gestured at the little party going on around them._

_"Yeah, yeah, take the guest room."_

_"What's that about?" He asked, narrowing his eyes on Ezra._

_Aria turned around and saw Ezra carrying a large wrapped frame, lugging it through the crowd and placed it against the wall. "Hmm." Aria said to Wren, making a face and quickly walked across the room to see._

_"Hey." Ezra panted out his last breath after carrying the heavy weight. "Last additional piece to the apartment."_

_"Yeah?" Aria asked. "What is it?"_

_He gestured with his hands, telling her to wait. "You wanna hang it up now?"_

_"Yeah. What is it?" She repeated._

_"I thought you'd figure out by now. Do you want a clue?"_

_Wren joined them, standing beside Aria. "Let's see it!"_

_She placed her hand on her hip and looked at the covered frame. "I do." She said to Ezra, playing along._

_"MoMA."_

_A moment of thinking. The men watched her face, waiting for her to come up with the answer._

_Aria furrowed her brow and lit up as she remembered what he promised. "You're shitting me." She finally said._

_"I am, in fact, not shitting you."_

_"What is it?" Wren asked them both, curious now._

_"It's huge!" She gushed, looking at the frame again._

_"Well, Hopper deserves all the attention, doesn't he?" Ezra told her with a wide smile._

_"Excuse me, Hopper?" Wren butted in, still wanting to know._

_"We went to the Museum of Modern Art a few months ago." Aria turned to Wren. "And saw some Edward Hopper paintings."_

_"Her favorite." Ezra added._

_"Ah." He furrowed his brow for a second. "That wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be."_

_Aria rolled her eyes at him and turned back to Ezra. "Thank you for remembering." She smiled at him, reached out her hand and gave him a kiss while Wren watched for a moment before walking away, giving them their privacy._

"I'm originally from London." He started as she continued to drink her coffee. "Uh, moved here about seven years ago on a working visa. Then everything grew on me so I decided to stay. What's your story?"

"I don't have one." She simply said. "I was born and raised here." She gave a side smile.

"Here? In New York?"

Her eyes fluttered with uncertainty. "Umm, no. Pennsylvania." She said as Wren flashed his crooked smile which Aria thought was overplayed but cute nonetheless.

"In Philly? How is it up there?" He asked and saw her fingers fidgeting with the coffee mug. He looked up at her again, the lines on her forehead had appeared, seemingly confused over something so he cleared his throat. "Another cup?" He said, intervening the subject of their conversation as his eyes bobbed back and forth at her face and her half-empty cup.

"Um, no, I'm fine." She said with a faint smile and pushed the cup away from her. "I should head back."

"Busy day, eh?" He continued, clearly not wanting to end their talk.

"A bit." Aria replied and smiled warmly. "Thank you for the coffee." She said and the two both got up from their seat, ready to leave.

"Do you think..." Wren licked his lips. "We can do this again? If you'd like...perhaps on a not so busy day?"

Aria studied his face, his pair of round kind eyes, and the little lines around his mouth that were now apparent perhaps from smiling too much.

_They shot each other looks from across the room. Spencer's unsure eyes triggered to an occupied Ezra then back to Aria who gave her a solid look._

_Skimming the room full of people, Aria saw Ezra lost in his conversation with some friends. Finally, Aria turned back to Spencer who bit her lower lip, looking rather anxious for what was going to happen next._

_Aria walked to the coffee table, grabbed a drink and glugged it down to smooth her throat. Then she gingerly got on top of the table and clasped her hands together, clearing her throat out loud._

_"Excuse me, everyone." She said aloud, interrupting all conversations as her friends slowly looked up at her and Ezra furrowed his brow with a slight, amused smirk on his face. "I have-" She breathed out. Doing the walking was a lot harder than talking. "A little announcement to make."_

_"What's goin' on?" Hardy asked as he slid next to Ezra while drinking his beer._

_"I guess you'll see in a second." Ezra said quietly without taking his eyes off of Aria._

_Licking her lips, Aria glanced at Spencer before fixing her eyes on the person who mattered the most. "Ezra and I are-" She gazed at him, holding a long silence. "...We're having a baby. I'm...pregnant." She let the words flow out as his eyebrows lowered for a moment, his mouth parting little by little._

_Their friends instinctively gathered close to Aria, bombarding her with hugs and their best regards and she kept her eyes fixed on Ezra, reading his face._

_Hardy swiftly turned to Ezra and tapped him with the back of his hand. "Whoa, congratulations, man! Why didn't you tell me?" He asked as Ezra shook off his stunned face._

_"I-" Ezra looked at Hardy, a bit speechless. "Element of surprise." He excused._

_"Well, you got me. That's great, man. Really. Congrats." Hardy said once again and tapped Ezra's face._

_"Thanks, Hardy." Ezra breathed out as he looked across the room, searching for her eyes. Aria brought her head up as her close friends crowded over her._

Ezra pushed the stroller and sat on the bench to take a little break from all the walking. He turned the stroller around to face his daughter whose cheeks were rosy as ever from the cold.

"Hey, you wanted to go to the park so here we are. I don't wanna hear any complaints from you." He quipped at her as she looked back curiously. "Are you hungry? Let's go get something eat?" He asked as she stared him.

Ezra noticed that the cold didn't bother her nowadays. In fact, she seemed to grow to love it. She was bundled up, layers with layers with an extra layer, so much so that she couldn't move around much.

This was partly Ezra's fault, his overprotecting habits over his own daughter. It was instinct, but he himself knew he probably had been a little too caring and made her daughter look a little bit comical and ridiculous when it came to clothes.

Studying her animated eyes, he smirked. "I know that look..." He said as she suddenly smiled, raising her arms, wanting to be picked up as always. He exhaled sharply, in defeat. "I spoil you, don't I?"

_When the timing was right, he pulled her aside to have a small private chat, leaving their oblivious friends mainly in the living room._

_"Please tell me this isn't one of your spontaneous jokes, Aria." Ezra whispered to her as she looked at him square in the eyes._

_"Would I joke about this?"_

_"Yes, you would." He snapped. "You have as a matter of fact."_

_Aria licked her lips and rolled her head to the , she did admit to herself that she had pulled this before, but that was when she was younger and did not take things as seriously as she did now. She quietly glanced at the floor before looking at him again. "It's real this time...whether you want it or not."_

_Rubbing his forehead, Ezra reached for her arm. "Me wanting it is not the case." His hand traveled down her arm to her hand, squeezing it. "It's-" He took a deep breath. "It's just..."_

_"What, Ezra? Spit it out for fuck's sake." She retorted as he calmly gazed at her. "It sucks not knowing how you feel about this and you're-"_

_"Come here." He pulled her hand and headed for the closest room which was the guest room, hoping for a more reliable privacy. He closed the door, locking it before returning to her and they stood there in the dark._

_"I thought..." Aria let out. "I actually thought you'd be happy." She said, shaking her head, and he could tell from her voice that she was trying to conceal her bruised expectations._

_"Aria, no..." He cupped her face. "I am. I am. It's profound." He added and kissed her forehead. "But it's a baby, it's...it's a real baby." He sighed. "I've never done this before."_

_"Good or else we'd have a bigger problem." She remarked, getting a light chuckle from him. Aria held his hands and moved closer, letting him rest his lips pressed against her forehead._

_"It's nerve wracking, you know?" He said against her skin._

_"Yeah, well, you're not the one who has to carry it for nine months."_

_"But I have to deal with this. For nine months. A crazier, hormonal, overflowing river of emotions version of you...as if the normal you wasn't enough."_

_"That's true." She said, tilting her head. "At least you've had some minor training for nearly a decade, right?"_

_He smiled and pulled her closer, letting his hands slip down her lower back. She slowly smiled and pivoting for a second so her back would be pressing against the door. Her hands felt for his pants, undoing them._

_"What are you doing?" He whispered as she continued to undress him. "Now?"_

_"Why the hell not? It's our apartment." She tugged on his belt, sliding it out of its notches._

_"We have guests outside."_

_"I'm sure they can entertain themselves for a few minutes."_

_"You're a terrible host."_

_"Good thing I didn't pursue in being a professional one." She looked up and grinned before pulling for a kiss and jumping a bit with her legs wrapped around his waist._

_"Hmm..." He sighed softly as they held the kiss together. He suddenly pulled away. "Wait, wait, you sure we can do this?"_

_"What?"_

_He glanced down at her stomach. "I-" He shook his head. "I don't wanna hurt the baby."_

_Aria threw her head back, hitting it against the door, but she was too amused to even notice it. "You really are an English teacher." She said to him while brushing the side of his face with her fingers. "The baby is barely even there. Trust me, it's not gonna feel a thing and wow, way to flatter yourself."_

_"Hey..." He said in a warning tone of voice and tilted his head at her._

_She laughed quietly. "You need to brush up on your anatomy, mister."_

_"Am I not doing that now?"_

_"Different kind of anatomy."_

_"What other type of anatomy is there?"_

_"Oh, for the love-" She pulled him, pressing her lips hard against his._

Checking her wristwatch, Spencer let out an exasperated sigh as she knocked on the door for the third time.

She walked to her apartment, letting Wren keep a distance behind her. "Hey." Aria said as soon as she saw her friend standing in front of her apartment door.

Spencer turned around and the smile that was about to form on her face turned into a reluctant scowl when she laid her eyes on Wren. "Hey...I was calling you." She said to Aria and glanced at Wren behind her.

"Sorry, I left my phone inside."

He pressed his lips together and nervously looked back at Spencer. "I-I should go." Wren said to Aria, brushing his finger against her elbow.

Facing him, Aria smiled and thought about introducing him to Spencer, but he looked like he was about to rush off. "Thanks again for the coffee."

"No problem." He quickly said and stole a glance at Spencer before heading off.

Spencer stepped aside, letting Aria open the door. "You made a friend." She commented as they walked in.

"Who? Him?" Aria said and shrugged. "I guess so."

"That guy took you out for coffee?"

"Guy's name is Wren." She corrected her. "And yes, he did."

"How did that go about?"

Aria turned to look at Spencer with her eyebrows lowered. "What's with all these questions?"

"I asked one...two." Turning her mouth into a frown, Spencer shrugged. "Just being nosy. Aww, c'mon, we're friends, aren't we? I like to keep updates with everyone's status."

"Well, he's from London. He's a doctor." She informed her. "And he's very charming. There's your update."

Spencer nodded slowly, her mouth slightly gaping. "Well-" She kept on nodding. "Just be careful."

"Why?" Aria looked at her intently, starting to feel a little bit annoyed.

"You can't always trust people you meet on the sidewalk."

"Speaking from experience?" Aria remarked as Spencer stopped herself from making a comeback.

_She let out a soft gasp and grasped the back of his head, fisting his hair. Ezra rested his head on her shoulder and held her up, keeping her supported against the door. Aria moved closer, brushing her nose against his face and smiled at him. Dipping down a bit, she traced his throat down with kisses, tickling him for a moment._

_Ezra, with his hands around her back and thigh, carefully took some steps back toward the bed while his pants were down his ankles, making it a bit of a challenge._

_As he fell hard onto the bed, he felt a bump and out came a loud painful groan._

_"What the hell, mate?" Wren exclaimed, feeling a dwelling pain on his right leg. He sat up and saw the frantic, naked couple in front of him. Aria pulled away from Ezra, hiding behind him._

_"Wren, what the hell are you doing in here?" Ezra retorted, his eyes wide as ever._

_Watching her cover herself up was rather comical. Wren rolled his eyes. "Oh, I'm a doctor for fuck's sake. I've seen everything."_

_"Just shut up and hand me the blankets, will you?" Aria sneered at him._

_"Hey! What are you doing here?" Ezra demanded once again._

_"She!" He pointed at Aria and threw the blankets at her. "Told me I could stay here!"_

_"What for?" Ezra turned his head to Aria._

_Clutching the sheets closer to her body, Aria looked at them. "Shit, I forgot he was in here." She fixed her eyes on Ezra. "I'm sorry!"_

_"Why aren't you outside?" Ezra asked him._

_"I could ask you both the same thing."_

_Aria rolled her eyes again and pulled Ezra's arm. "C'mon, can we just go somewhere else? It's like talking to a child." She sighed and glared at Wren. "Go back and enjoy your nap." She said as she continued to pull on Ezra's arm._

_"Can I have the blankets back?" Wren slyly smiled and Aria walked back to him, tearing off the sheets around her body, and handed them back. Chuckling, Wren's eyes traveled up and down her bare body as she glared at him._

_Ezra shook his head as he watched Aria walking back to him, stark naked._

_"Don't." She told him before he could say a word about her and Wren._

_"What?"_

_"I know what you're gonna say. I'm already pregnant with your child so don't think about preaching-"_

_"I-" He opened his mouth and shut them again because she was right on target._

_Wren watched carefully, his eyes glued to her petite body which was another part of her that he admired fully._


	4. Chapter 4

**_AriaEzraForever: Hope there will be a happy ending this time. Pretty please?_**

**_Ha ha ha ha. Yes? No? Maybe so?_**

**_fanpire101: I just want to know if it's ever going to be confirmed?_**

**_Of course! Thanks for the reviews. And don't worry, things will get less confusing. It just takes a little patience :)_**

**_- Queen_**

* * *

_He scrunched his face as he listened to the retching sound just outside their bedroom. He never believed in morning sickness, but evidently, that skepticism was about to change. It had been a month and half and between those days, he learned to be grateful for being a male specimen._

_Ezra sat up, leaned against the headboard and watched Aria walking back in. "You okay?" He questioned, studying her fatigue face._

_"Yeah." She nodded as she climbed back into bed. "I think I threw up colors that didn't even exist yet—"_

_Spreading his arm, he let her head rest on it. "Okay, alright, we don't need to talk about that." He cut in._

_She lifted her eyes at him. "Come here."_

_"You're really not gonna kiss me after all that, are you?"_

_"I brushed and rinsed, alright? I'm not a pig." She told him and kissed him quickly. "Today's Saturday, right?" She thought to herself for a second. "Yeah, it is."_

_"Why?"_

_"Because I just kinda wanted to stay in bed today."_

_"You've been doing that for the past four…five weeks?"_

_"With you, asshole."_

_"I kinda wanted to go out and eat." He pulled her closer. "And you know, you're gonna have to clean that potty mouth when the baby comes." He said, giving her a kiss on the side of her head. "Can't have her getting sent home because she called her nursery teacher a—" He whispered the words to her ears, making her laugh hard._

_"She, huh?" She pointed out. "You think it's a girl?"_

_"I think it doesn't matter." He told her. "What matters is…we're naming the kid Ezra no matter what circumstances."_

_"No, absolutely not."_

_"It could pass up for a unisex name, it could work."_

_"No. Fuck, no. What are you on?" She countered. "Why do you get to name the kid after yourself? She wouldn't be here without me."_

_He scoffed. "I hold half of the responsibility for all of this." He looked down at her stomach and placed his hand on top of it._

_"Please, you were responsible for five minutes." She snapped back._

_"Oh, come on, I think it was a lot longer than that!" He defended as she cocked her eyebrow at him. "Fine. You can name this one, but the next—" He gestured at himself._

_"I haven't even gotten half way with this and you're already thinking of having another?" She said with a faint smile. "You're probably gonna name it something ridiculous anyway. A superhero name."_

_"Superhero names aren't ridiculous. They're…practical." He countered, being a former avid comics fan._

_"'Green Lantern, stop pulling your sister's hair. And X-23, go to your room."_

_Ezra laughed and squeezed her body with his arm. "You're an awful little imp." He remarked. "And I'm surprised you know who X-23 is."_

_"Yeah, well, when you spend enough of your time with one person, you end up knowing all about them and what they're of." She stated, gazing up at him. Ezra dipped his head and kissed her softly._

They walked to the bedroom with Ezra giving instructions as to what they can do for their own safety. The break was over and he would need to get up early in the morning and head back to the university.

"The heater's automatic so you don't have to worry about that." He looked over at the crib and saw his daughter sleeping soundly. He turned to Aria with a smile. "Heavy sleeper, didn't I tell you?"

"Yeah." She chuckled softly and skimmed over the bedroom. Ezra walked to his bed and saw some books out so he hurriedly stashed them in his nightstand drawer before she noticed.

"I leave around 9, but if you wanna come in early, that's fine too. I could fix you up some breakfast if you want." He offered, making her smile. He reached for his back pocket and took out his wallet. "And here's the spare key." He said as he gave it to her.

"Sounds good. I'll try my best not to fall asleep on the job."

"Actually, the guest room is available if you wanted to—" He looked at her and saw her shaking her head playfully, implying that she was only kidding. "I know you're a night shift so if you ever need some extra hours of sleep…" He cleared his throat. "Just make sure she's with you. She's cheeky, that one." He said jutting his head toward the crib.

She nodded politely at him. "Of course." Pointing her head toward the crib, she noticed the baby budging. "Oh, heavy sleeper's waking up." She observed.

Before walking over to his daughter, Ezra perked up. "Oh, don't open the door, the one across the guest room. My—" He clicked his tongue. "It's a dark room so there might be some chemicals there—"

"A dark room?" She said jumping in. "I didn't know you were a photographer."

Ezra looked at her for moment. "No." He slowly shook his head. "…She was."

She squinted and instantly understood. "Oh." She let out, hearing the past tense in his answer.

"So, that's pretty much it in a nutshell." He quickly said and she didn't move from her spot, seemingly wanting to ask something else. "What is it?" He asked curiously.

"Would it be wrong of me to ask about her?" Aria said softly.

Ezra furrowed his brow. "What do you wanna know?"

"What happened to her?"

Biting his lower lip, he forced a smile. "Uh, she—" He cleared his throat and a cry coming from the crib broke out, stopping him from continuing on. "Sorry." Ezra said.

"It's okay. Some other time…" She said with a small smile as Ezra walked to check up on his crying daughter.

_He browsed through the section. They still had a few months to brainstorm for some names, but there was nothing wrong with being overly prepared especially when it was something this huge. It was jarring for him, but he had thought of it before, just not in this particular way. After all, he was reaching his mid-thirties. He would say he wanted to start it when they were both ready, but sometimes things happened the way they did for many reasons and he could only assume that this surprise, this unexpected gift would bring him a different and new kind of happiness. Expected or unexpected, it wouldn't change a thing._

_"Babe, come here for a sec." He said to Aria who was just a few feet away from him, busy with her own searching._

_"Hmm?" She asked and looked at the book in his hand. "No." She commented._

_"No?" He repeated, a bit surprised. "Why not? The kid needs a name, you know."_

_"Spencer already got me one when we had the housewarming."_

_"A name?"_

_"No." She tilted her head at him. "The book." She said, grabbing it from his hand and putting it back on the shelf._

_"You don't have to be so hostile about it." Ezra muttered._

_Sighing, Aria reached for his face. "I'm sorry, it's just—" She shook her head at herself. "I don't know. Fucking hormones." She said, throwing her hands up._

_Ezra leveled with her height and offered a reassuring smile. "Not your worst." He reassured and gave her a peck on the lips._

"What were you doing there?" She inquired with her arms crossed above her chest.

Wren breathed in. "I just wanted to see how she was doing."

"How thoughtful." Spencer said sarcastically. "Now, tell me the real reason." She snapped and he began to walk the other way where she inevitably followed.

"Spencer, look I know you were her closest friend, but you weren't her _only_ friend." He defended without bothering to look at her.

"No, this isn't about me and it sure as hell not about friendship." She told him and grabbed his arm to stop him from walking. "This is about _you_ trying to force yourself on _her_."

"I didn't force anything on anyone." He retorted, his eyes narrowing on her with slight anger. "Can we not do this right now? The hospital can't afford to have squandered time of nonsense chattering."

Spencer glared at him. "I knew it. I fucking knew it right from the very beginning." She told him as he stared back at her with an anxious look in his eyes now as if he had been undressed in public. "And I wasn't her closest friend. I _am _her closest friend, prick."

Wren rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand as he watched Spencer trailing off.

_He cleaned up the plates and joined Aria in the kitchen. "Last one." He told her as he gave her the plate._

_"Thanks." Aria said, smiling at Wren._

_Glancing behind him, Wren had caught Spencer's eyes for a fleeting moment and he smiled apprehensively and she did the same before returning to her conversation with Hanna._

_"So, when's Ezra coming back?" He asked, retreating to Aria's company._

_"Should be home in ten minutes. He's on his way." She informed him as she continued to wash the dishes._

_"It's a shame he couldn't join us for dinner."_

_"All work, no play. Tell me about it."_

_"You're one to talk."_

_She turned around with a curious look on her face. "What's that supposed to mean?"_

_Leaning against the counter, Wren offered a smile. "Well, you're always flying off to different continents, leaving us for weeks. It's—" He smacked his lips together and shrugged. "I don't know how you do it."_

_"Well, I'm on leave right now so you guys don't have to worry about me taking off soon." Aria chuckled to herself. "And it's easy when you have someone like Ezra. I don't even know how he puts up with it at all." She stated and gave her attention back to the dirty plates._

_Sighing softly to himself, Wren stared at Aria, taking note of her little mouth that was unconsciously parted and the little curls of her long eyelashes. She reminded him of the women in old paintings he used to research on back in college. Something authentic about her face that made him a little weak to the knees. After a long savoring look, he smiled to himself and picked up his head, looking across the room to see Spencer take notice of him._

_He quickly turned back to Aria. "Did you say you were on leave?" Wren asked, replaying the words in his head after being distracted._

_"Mhm-mhm…" She answered, still concentrating on the dishes._

_"What for?"_

_Aria lowered her brow at him. "What do you mean what for?"_

_"Are you just taking off from work?" He asked as Aria threw her head back in realization._

_"Oh that's right, you weren't there." She let out a soft laugh. "See, this is what you get for dozing off."_

_"Dozed off? Aria, did I miss something?"_

_She shrugged lightly. "Nothing, well…just the fact that Ezra and I are going to have a baby soon." She said, letting her voice sound nonchalant as much as possible. Wren stared at her until she looked back with a quirky smile._

_"You're pregnant?" He breathed out, completely stunned by this._

_"I am and you'll be our doctor." She jested._

_"No." He quickly said._

_Aria turned to face him. "Okay…we'll find another doctor." She rolled her eyes and turned back to the sink._

_"No, I meant…I'm not assigned in the delivery room…I can't be your doctor even if—"_

_"Relax, Wren. I was kidding about the whole thing." She shook her head at him. "Believe me, you are the last person I want to deliver my baby." She told him with wide eyes._

_"Why's that? I thought we were mates?"_

_"Exactly my point."_

_He sighed and wiped his forehead. "Well, I wouldn't want to even if you begged on your knees."_

_Aria tilted her head and laughed through her nostrils. "Yeah, what's your reason?" She rinsed the plates and placed them on the metal tray as Wren stayed quiet for a moment._

_"I haven't come up with a good one yet." He excused and another sigh came out._

_"Well, do tell when you think of one." She said and moved around the kitchen, cleaning whatever mess was left._

Spencer picked her up and smiled widely. "Hi, precious." She said and twirled her. "She seems happy."

"Yeah, after beating me up for every little thing. I'll say the little sadist is pretty content." Ezra commented.

Spencer laughed at him. "Don't listen to him, he's being a little grump. Nobody likes a grump. It messes with your face." She told the little giggly baby.

"Spencer, don't start putting ideas in her head. She's already driving me crazy on her own."

Sitting down, Spencer laughed again. "How's everything going?" She asked while clapping the baby's hands together.

"Pretty good, actually."

"That's good." Spencer added and looked at him.

"Have you…" He sat down next to her. "Have you checked up on her lately? Anything new?"

Spencer looked at him, blinking continuously. The way he looked right now, with his smile up to his ears, made it harder to tell him the main reason as to why she came over. What was the point of telling him? It was an unsure thing after all. More importantly, this news would only make him miserable, seeing as how he was so close with Wren. That was one thing she was sure of.

"Nope." She said, giving him a warm comforting smile. "She's, you know, seems content." She said and returned to the baby. "Just like this little angel." She said and grinned at the baby. "Is she talking yet?"

Slowly, Ezra looked at her with wide eyes. "…Is she supposed to?"

"Uhh, I don't know. Aren't babies supposed to be speaking gibberish at this age or at any age?"

"She's…not doing that." Ezra told her with a worried look on his face.

Spencer turned her head at him and gave a reluctant smile. "That's okay…" She laid her eyes on the baby. "I'm sure she'll get there."

_Her lips curled into an enticing smile as she kept her eyes fixed on his face. Aria's arms stayed on either side of his head, keeping him trapped as she very slowly moved above him._

_Ezra gripped her waist with both hands and looked back at her, hearing her soft moans. After a while of this, he broke out into a soft laugh._

_"What?…" Aria said, furrowing her brow at him and scrunching up her face from his sudden outburst._

_"I'm sorry." He chuckled again while Aria continued on, her breasts pressed against his chest and legs straddling him._

_"Really, Ezra? You're really gonna laugh while I'm fucking you?"_

_Ezra shook his head and laughed again. "I'm sorry—" He cleared his throat. "…What are you doing?" He finally asked, a smile still stuck on his face._

_"Apparently, something hilarious." She glared at him. "I'm trying to take it slow. What the hell is your problem?"_

_"This just…feels a little strange. It's like I'm being fondled." He admitted and in return, she scoffed and rolled her eyes, getting off of him. "Aw, c'mon." He tried to bring her back, but she pulled away._

_"You're such an asshole." Aria remarked, kicking off the blankets and swiftly climbed out of bed._

_Quietly laughing to himself, Ezra's eyes followed her. "Aww, shutterbug, come on! It was just—" He shouted after her, but soon gave up knowing he had no honest reasons to give without making the situation worse for himself._

"Okay, what is it?" Hanna said after watching her smile mindlessly for hours.

Aria placed the tray on the counter. "What?" She asked, a bit puzzled.

"You've been trigger happy since you came in and I know waiting tables is fun, but honestly." She said with sarcasm in her tone.

With a shrug, Aria looked at her. "It's just been a good week."

"Oh? How is it different from any other week?"

"Well…" She cocked an eyebrow.

"Well…" Hanna repeated after her.

"First off, I met a very nice guy in my apartment building."

Hanna raised her eyebrows. "You did?" She gave a sly smile. "Does this nice guy have a name?"

"He does." She replied playfully. "His name is Wren—"

That wasn't exactly the name she expected to hear. Hanna's mouth dropped, enough for Aria to notice. "Wren?"

"Yeah—" Aria looked at her with wrinkled lines on her forehead. "Wait, do you know him?"

Hanna shook her head. "No, I just—" She forced a smile. "Never heard of anybody named Wren. You gotta admit, it's an unusual name." Another forced tight smile.

"Well, he's from London and he's a very young, very handsome doctor." She said, feeling a major déjà vu.

"Really? Is that all?" Hanna interrupted, quick to dismiss the subject.

Aria moved her mouth to the side, thinking. "I got another job."

"You did?" Hanna said, genuinely surprised.

"It's nothing major." She said before Hanna could go into her full enthusiasm. "I'm just babysitting for my next door neighbor. Well, he lives a floor above me so I guess he's not technically my next door neighbor."

Hanna let out a satisfying smile. "That's great, Aria!" She exclaimed and Aria gave her a look.

"Why do you sound more excited about me getting a babysitting job than me meeting a nice British, successful man with a successful career?"

Shrugging lightly, Hanna pursed her lips. "Doctors can be pretentious dicks." She said nonchalantly.

This irritated her all of a sudden. Aria shot her friend an icy glare. "You don't even know him." She scoffed and swiftly walked away.

"Aria…" Hanna said after her and rolled her to the side, letting out a sigh.

_"Fuck!" She yelled as the books clattered all over the floor._

_Ezra, alarmed and rushing, came into the living room to see Aria towering over the fallen bookshelf. Each piece of shelf messily stacked on top of one another while the books around it remained in a chaotic heap._

_"You okay?" He asked and walked to her. "Look, I know you're pissed at me for earlier, but you didn't have to take it out on the bookshelf…unless it laughed at you too." He lightly joked, receiving a hard glare from her._

_"I didn't do shit. It just caved in." She explained._

_Ezra examined the broken shelf bookcase. "Probably couldn't handle all the weight."_

_"Oh really?" Aria said in a mocking tone._

_He smacked his lips together. "I'll take care of it." He said to her reassuringly._

_"Will you please?" She begged._

_He nodded and walked behind her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Tilting her head, Aria willingly exposed her neck and he pressed his lips against her skin, leaving a trail of soothing kisses._

"Can you say dadda?" He relentlessly repeated for her, keeping her seated on his lap. "Say dadda." He said once again as she played with her own fingers, completely ignoring him.

She was turning six months in a few weeks and Spencer was right. Ezra had read that girls tend to speak much earlier than boys. It worried him deeply that she was not babbling yet, and he could forget about walking. Perhaps he was being too anxious, seeing how alone and terrifyingly helpless he was especially when it came to taking care of a child. But self-pity was not welcomed, knowing it would do him and his daughter no good.

Ezra started to shake his legs up and down and she looked up at him, responding with a gleeful smile. He purposely stopped bouncing, awaiting her reaction. "Say dadda first." He negotiated and her mouth began to quiver; her way of telling him that she was going to cry. "No. That's not gonna work on me." Ezra told her solidly as she continued frowning, her big hazel eyes staring right through him, melting him away. "No. I know what you're doing." With a disdainful shrug, he shook his head at her. "I already told you. It's not gonna work. You're not the first to try that."

She abruptly relaxed and looked at him with a straight face, intimidating him.

Ezra pulled his head back and lowered his brow as they both stared at each other, waiting for either one to surrender. He didn't know whether or not she was going to break out into a cry, but her little act gave him an idea of how much she understood and how much of a trickster she actually was.

"Okay…" He nervously laughed and she copied him, itching for a smile. "You little imp!" He realized and began to shake his legs again, watching her smile and reminding him of her mother.

_Aria walked in, pushing the door with her shoulder and carried the grocery bags with both hands._

_"I could hear you banging from the lobby." She stated while the hammering continued. "What are you doing?" She asked as she closed the door with her foot. Without receiving an answer, Aria creased her eyebrows and headed for the living room. "What's this?" She asked, observing her boyfriend who was slouching over something._

_"Hey." He turned quickly to glance at her and went back to his little project._

_"What's going on here?" She asked, placing the grocery bags on the floor, and looked at the unfinished bookcase in front of him._

_"Taking care of it." He said as he stood up with the last piece of shelf in his hands._

_Aria arched her eyebrows. "See, when I thought you said you'd take care of it, I was expecting you'd buy a new one, not have a build-a-bookcase in our apartment."_

_"Yeah, well, homemade stuff is always the best." He commented as he placed the last shelf on the bookcase, completing it. "And I assure you this one will outlive us both unlike that expensive Swedish piece of crap." He patted his hands on his thighs, dusting them off. "All it needs is a little polish and we're done." He turned to her and she ambled her way to him._

_"Well, personally speaking, it's not truly homemade until our names are carved on it." She remarked with a side smile._

_Ezra looked at her quietly, evidently stifling a smile. Aria suspiciously examined his face and decided to take a closer look at the bookcase. She searched for her name, feeling the smooth wooden texture with her hands. A minute later, she felt the carving on the inside of the case coming from the middle shelf. Biting her lower lip, she brushed her fingers over each letter that spelled out her name as Ezra walked toward her and she turned around to face him._

_Smiling, Ezra tilted his head at her, waiting for her to come out with a witty insult for being cliche. Yet her eyes merely remained on him and he noticed the little glint of dejection in her eyes. No, not dejection, something else, something foreign to him._

_"Aria?…" He said reluctantly and she glanced up, keeping herself composed. "It's those damn hormones again, isn't?" He jested and reached for arm._

_"No…" She finally said and looked at him with softened eyes. "It's you."_


	5. Chapter 5

**_A little help from you guys, since I'm new to this site. I'm not familiar with ratings so I was wondering if any of my stories are rated too strictly or too loosely...? And particularly for this one, would it be rated T or M? I have no idea._**

**_Once again, thank you for those who take the time to review! - Queen_**

* * *

_She looked down, jutting her stomach. Her hands went around it, feeling her smooth skin and her proudly protruding belly._

_Their home phone rang and Aria quickly went for it. "I've got it." She shouted at Ezra who was in the living room._

_"Hello?" Aria answered and went back in front of the mirror, aimlessly touching her bare stomach._

_"Hi, sweetie."_

_Aria widened her eyes at her mother's voice. "Mom? I—" She pulled her shirt down as if Ella could see her now. "What—how did you—" She said, incapable of getting out her words._

_For such an informal and tight knit family, they never thought they would ever be torn up by anything, but when Aria had decided to come out with Ezra and their relationship, her parents were anything, but approving. And even after months of separation from Ezra, as an act of compromise for her family, Aria came running back to him after graduation and stood her ground until she moved to New York to continue with her studies and more importantly, to continue her life with him._

_Ezra didn't exactly feel it was the proper way to handle their situation and the last thing he wanted to do was break up a close family, but Aria, hard headed and determined, had already chosen for herself even if it meant pushing her family away until she finally got their consent._

_"I got in contact with your friends and fortunately enough, I got through one of 'em. I won't say who for the sake of their..." Ella paused, unsure if they were close enough to even joke around. "Poor girl, I had to juice it out of her until she finally cracked and gave me your new number." She said, still trying to keep the atmosphere light._

_Walking in, Ezra watched her talking on the phone and she looked up momentarily at him. "Who is it?" He mouthed at her._

_Aria covered the mouthpiece. "Spencer." Her eyes flickering at him, a sign that he was quite familiar with. Everyone had their human errors and this was hers. The flickering eyes meant that she was lying through her teeth, but he let it go for now._

_"Ah. Give her a hello for me." He said and smiled at her._

_"Okay. Babe, can you shut the door?" She whispered back and turned away as soon as Ezra complied after giving a few skeptical glances. Her attention went back to Ella. "I don't know what…" Aria spoke softly and surrendered, letting silence speak for herself. For quite a while, they remained quietly until Ella cleared her throat._

_"How are you?" Ella simply asked._

_"Mom, why are you calling me? Why now?" She said solidly, not wanting to beat around the bush._

_Ella sighed. "I called to tell you that your father… passed away last night." She revealed and paused to wait for her daughter's reply._

_Aria swallowed hard and felt the need to sit down so she walked to her bed, settling herself. "What?" She breathed out._

_"And he—"_

_"No, that can't be." Aria interrupted._

_"Sweetie—"_

_"How?" She asked. "How can that be?" She asked again as her cheeks became hot from shock._

_"It was a heart attack. He was already having trouble…" Ella told her, but all Aria shut everything out and all she could think about was how she could have known this herself if she hadn't drifted away from them._

_"No, no, no, no." Aria said, leaning forward and covering her eyes._

_"Listen, honey, he—" Ella cleared her throat again, feeling her voice giving in as well. "He wanted me to tell you that he was very sorry for everything."_

_"No, Mom—" She cut in._

_"And that…he would have done it all differently if he knew he wouldn't see you again for years."_

_Aria leaned forward, covering her eyes to stop the tears. "Mom, I'm so sorry—" She whispered._

_"I want you to know that I agree with him." Ella's voice began to crack. "Because you see sweetheart, I don't think I can forgive myself for losing my only daughter, my only child." Ella continued._

_"It's my fault."_

_"It's nobody's fault, you're smart enough to know that." She cleared her throat. "So, no more crying, okay? It won't do us any good." She said trying to keep her chin up._

_"Aria—" He opened the door, carrying a picture album. He stopped and saw her crying. "Hey—" Ezra slowly approached her._

_"Ezra, not now please." Aria snapped at him before he got too close. "Please, just…" She shook her head at him._

_Ezra replied by backing away and knew it would be a mistake to argue with her right now._

_"You're still with him." Ella commented. "That's wonderful. It really is." She added. "To know that one of us did something right after all…"_

_"Oh, Mom…" Aria wiped her face and nodded, forcing a smile. "…I-I have something to tell you."_

_"Anything."_

_She looked up, giving a wary glance at the door. "You're going to be a grandmother." She slowly said and there was silence followed by Ella's soft, surprised laugh. Perhaps this was life's way of balancing things out; one goes while another one follows._

"You're early." He let out.

Aria gave an awkward smile. "I thought—" She pointed behind her. "I thought you didn't mind—"

"No, no, this is great. I just didn't actually expect you to come so early."

"Did I catch you at a bad time? I could come bac—"

"No! No." He cut in. "I thought you'd still be asleep." He gave a chuckle. "Speaking of who's still asleep…" He jutted his head toward his apartment and Aria offered a smile. "Come on in." He nodded once. "Would you like some breakfast?"

Aria turned around quickly and shook her head. "I already had some an hour ago. Thank you though."

"Wow, you're an early bird." He said and they continued to walk further into the living room. "Do you sleep?" He joked.

She smiled timidly again. "First impressions are always important to me." She revealed to him. "I wouldn't want to make a bad one myself."

Ezra took a long and hard look at her before offering a smile. "Now, I'm wondering if _I_ made a good first impression on you."

She pondered for a moment, recalling the day he first came to the restaurant and how much he had terrified her.

"Yeah, if I remember right, you did." She said, her eyes flickering for a split second.

He licked the corner of his mouth, catching the flickering eyes.

_"Aria, what's going on?" Ezra asked as he watched her packing a small bag. She continued to move about the room, grabbing whatever she needed. "Aria!" His voice booming now._

_"What?" She snapped back, running her fingers through her hair._

_"Where the hell are you going?"_

_She licked her lips. "I'm going to stay in Rosewood for a few days."_

_He furrowed his brow, a bit taken aback. "And you weren't even planning on telling me this? You're not going." He said. "Not in this condition."_

_"What fucking condition, Ezra?" She asked, hating the implication that she was vulnerable all of a sudden._

_He gestured at her stomach. "That fucking condition." He retorted and she rolled her eyes, adding fuel to his fire. "Don't roll your eyes at me. I'm serious."_

_She went back to her bag, zipping it up. "Well, so am I." She grumbled under her breath._

_Ezra walked toward the door, slamming it close and Aria turned to face him. "You're not going. I don't care why. You're not going."_

_Aria breathed deeply and ambled her way to him. "Ezra, you can pick any fights with me whenever you want. Just…don't fight with me on this one. Please."_

_"What are you not telling me?"_

_She stared at him as thousands of reasons raced in her head, telling her why she couldn't tell him. Ezra was the kind of person who easily took the blame and carried the guilt even when it wasn't his to take. Telling him about Byron would lead him to beating himself up and that he would find some type of loophole to convince himself that it was his fault, for tearing her family apart, even for whisking her off for himself which was one thing she couldn't agree with._

_And there was also another thing that she couldn't over look, for his own sake. Ezra didn't have the best reputation in Rosewood after the failure of their coming out and it was safe to assume that his reputation as the scandalous teacher who up and left wouldn't change if he suddenly came back to visit and attend the funeral. Aria could only expect people awaiting for him with their pitchforks; she couldn't bear to imagine their reactions once they find out that she was carrying his baby too._

_"I'm going." She simply said, not budging away from his stare._

_He clenched his jaw and they sized each other up for quite a while. "Fine." Ezra ultimately said, breaking away from her stare, and quickly walked out of the room._

_Aria shut her eyes, fully aware of his verbal facade, but she let him act this way. Better wounded words than wounded hearts, she thought._

"I'm scaring her off." He said, rubbing his eyes. He had ten minutes to spare before his next class. Ezra leaned against the table, putting his elbows up as he listened to Spencer talking over on the phone. "She's not comfortable with me."

"How could you possibly know that?" She argued.

"Because I just know."

"Well, I wouldn't bet on it." She comforted him. "Listen…you can't start doubting yourself now or ever for that matter." She said softly. "If you start losing yourself then who's going to look for her?"

The magazines and books on the table bothered her to no end. She knew it wasn't her house, but a little cleaning couldn't hurt anybody. Aria got up and organized the table, putting all the books and magazines into one stack.

She went to the kitchen and grabbed some paper towel to wipe the table clean. Shortly afterward, she could hear the baby crying softly in the room so without hesitance, Aria headed for her.

"Morning, cutie." Aria said softly and gently picked her up. The baby rested in her arms and turned her head toward Aria's chest instinctively searching for her breasts. "Oh, no, no…" She whispered and walked to the small dresser where all the baby supply sat along with the prepared milk formula. "Let's go warm this up first, hmm?" Aria said before taking a little trip to the kitchen.

His last class for the day. Time flew by and he realized how much he truly missed being in class, teaching and talking, and hopefully enlightening all of his students. He never aimed to be a carpe diem kind of teacher. The only thing he wanted was to be happy with teaching and perhaps if he were lucky enough, he could retire knowing he had inspired a kid or two.

"Now, Emerson's 'Self-Reliance' was saying that it was better to maintain your individuality than to live in a seemingly harmonious society with all the laws, and the government always on your toes, and all of this routine and closed pack lifestyle—" Ezra paced back and forth in front of class, gesturing with his hands as his students listened attentively. "Where people ultimately lose their persona because of such conformity. Now does anybody wanna comment on that? Do you think it's better to keep your individuality which can also means not conforming to society, right? Emerson is telling us to forget the world, the society, whatever the hell is left out there—" He said as he pointed outside the window with his hand.

He cleared his throat and went on. "And he tells us to just be your own person, do what you want because there is nothing worse than losing…yourself." He slowly ended the sentence as an image of Aria in his apartment suddenly popped up in his head. He quickly shook it off and saw one of his students raising his hand. "Yes, please, go ahead." He pointed at him.

"I don't necessarily think conformity is a bad thing. If people did whatever made them happy for the sake of being their own individual then this place would literally be hell on earth." The student said. "But I think, even with society on your side, you can still keep in touch with who you are. I guess it just needs to be balanced."

Ezra smiled. "So, you're saying compromise?"

"Yeah, exactly." He replied.

"See, that word was never mentioned in Emerson's writing." Ezra let out a soft chuckle. "Ironic, isn't it?"

_She glanced over the sea of people in black and tried to pick out her mother when out of the blue, a hand grabbed her lightly by the shoulder, turning her around._

_Aria swallowed hard and smiled at her mother. Before she could say a word, Ella had her already locked in a hug. For a moment, Aria began to feel like a little girl again. She could feel her eyes tearing up so she cursed the hormones, hoping they would not drive her to the wall even just for today._

_"I've missed you. My baby girl." Ella said softly as they held each other longer. Finally pulling back, Ella looked at her. "Where's Ezra?"_

_A bit taken aback by the comment, she still needed another reassurance, something that will make her certain that her own mother was finally accepting him. Aria's mouth twitched for an answer. "He couldn't make it." She said as her eyes flickered._

_Ella nodded and glanced down at her stomach, then she looked up at her again with a smile this time. "How far along are you?"_

_"Three months." Aria said with a small nod and Ella tilted her head and gave her a look as if to say 'You should have told me.', but with their relationship, Ella didn't have the heart nor the confidence to tell her._

_"Rosewood? What for?" Wren asked in disbelief while he flipped through a photo album that Aria had made. Looking at all their pictures together, Wren felt a twinge of resentment. He wondered if he could ever have someone that cared enough to make albums of their relationship. Even with the self-pitying, Wren continued on with the pages of pictures in front of him._

_"I don't know." Ezra shook his head and continued to correct his students' school papers._

_"Well, there's only one reason she'd go back, yeah?"_

_"Thought of it. Not possible."_

_"Family is still family, mate. That's one thing you can't change." He took a deep breath and stared at this one particular picture of Aria and Ezra laughing. "No matter how much you want to."_

"Hello?"

"Hi!" Ezra greeted, glad to hear her voice. "How are you holding up? Is she being a fuss?"

Aria smiled to herself and watched the little baby playing in bed. "No, she's been wonderful."

"Is she sleeping?"

"She's in bed, attempting to crawl."

"How's that working out for her?"

"Not well." Aria chuckled and saw the baby slowly face planting into the soft mattress. "But she's a little trooper." She informed him.

Ezra sighed with relief. "Listen, I should be home in a couple of hours." He double checked his watch. "Do you need anything?"

"Pardon?" She asked, a bit surprised. He made her sound like she was a stay at home wife all of a sudden. She wondered if he was always this thoughtful of others or maybe, he was getting a little too attached or that she was overreacting.

"I'm gonna make a quick stop at the market. I was wondering if you and the little one needed anything."

"Oh, no, I think we're okay." Aria answered and heard Ezra bidding farewell before hanging up. "Okay, bye." She said and furrowed her brow at the phone.

_She ran her hand over the smooth wooden casket before walking away. The only thing worst about being separated for years was being reconciled through death. She couldn't help having regrets even though she knew they were no use now._

_Walking to her mother, Aria sat down and joined her company. "Umm…" Aria started and looked at her. "I wanted to ask you if you wanted to come with me to New York…maybe stay there for a few days?" She asked and they sat quietly for a moment._

_"Now, do you think he will be okay with that idea?"_

_"I don't think it matters, really." Aria said. "I mean, it sort of just dawned on me. All of this disconnection was utterly pointless, Mom…and I'm just hoping that if you do decide to come with me, spend a little time getting to know him…maybe history won't repeat itself." She intertwined her hands in front of her. "I sure wouldn't want it to."_

_Ella took her daughter's hand and brushed it over. "I would love to." She said and Aria's face lit up. "But not now. Not after this." She said implying her husband's death. "You'll have to give me some time, honey."_

_"Okay." Aria replied. "That's fine." She added and forced a smile._

_"C'mon, let's get you something to eat. I know I didn't stop eating until you came out." Ella said with a small smile as they got up at the same time._

She pulled her hand back as soon as the door opened. Spencer widened her eyes at Aria who had the baby to her side.

"Spencer?" Aria's voice was just as surprised as Spencer's face. "What are you doing here?"

"I—" Spencer thought fast and stepped back to take a glance at the door, pretending to check the apartment's floor number. "Shit, I mean—" She quickly said, realizing the baby's presence. "Shoot, I'm on the wrong floor, aren't I?"

Aria suddenly let out a laugh. "Wha—"

"I know. I don't even know how I got here. I thought I was knocking on your door…and—" She shrugged at her. "I was on auto-pilot. Sorry, it's been a long day. I just got off from work and I've been all over the place." She quickly recovered herself. "But hey, the objective was to find you and here you are." She pointed at her. "And here you are indeed, why are you here again?"

"Babysitting." Aria answered and gave the baby a little playful shake. "Come meet your friend's friend, sweetie. This is Spencer." She said to the baby.

Spencer watched the two with a baffled look on her face. "Hi." She said to the baby.

"Wow, try to sound a little more friendly there, Spencer."

"Sorry! No, I'm just—" Spencer feigned a smile. "I didn't know you babysit for Ezra." She said.

"Yeah, just started today-" Aria stopped her rocking and looked at Spencer. "How do you know his name?" She questioned suspiciously as Spencer's mouth slowly dropped.

"Uhh, I don't. I saw the mailbox downstairs. I remember seeing 207." She said, another cover for her slip up. "Ezra Fitz? Isn't it?" She stepped back again, taking another fake glance at the door.

"Oh—" Aria nodded. "Umm, I'd invite you in, but I don't know if he's okay with me letting people in his house…"

"That's okay. I'll just wait for you down there." She said indicating Aria's apartment. "Do you have your key?"

"Under the mat."

Spencer rolled her head to side. "You gotta stop doing that. It's not safe, Aria."

"I will once a certain someone remembers to bring her own key." She pointed out.

"Okay, one day doesn't…two days, three? No!" Spencer squinted. "Oh, come on—"

"Yeah."

"Won't happen again." Spencer said and trailed off.

_Aria rolled her luggage in and quietly closed the door. She walked to the living room to see Ezra on the couch with papers spread out on the table in front of him. She pressed her lips together as he slowly looked up at her. Two days felt longer than she had expected and judging from the look on his face, he felt the same._

_Ezra shuffled the papers into a neat file and put them in his bag, got up, and headed for the bedroom. Rolling her eyes, Aria took off her shoes before dealing with him and his notorious silent treatment._

_After doing her nightly routine, Aria finally went to their bedroom and climbed into bed with him as he kept his back turned to her. Seven years with the same man, Aria knew he was not sleeping, not with all the unsaid things between them so she hoped he would give in first and say the first word; if not, then this would go on for days. She wasn't willing to step up since she only did everything for his sake._

_Aria slept on her side, her back turned to him as well. After a few minutes, she shuffled and settled on her back, feeling her stomach turning. Ate too much, she thought, recalling the food back in Rosewood. Moments later, she swiftly got up and headed for the bathroom._

_Ezra listened on in, but there was nothing. A clear false alarm. He could hear the door creaking and soon, the sound of her shuffling. Once she settled back into bed, Ezra heaved a sigh and turned over to face her._

_This kind of silence did not bring them peace nor was it beneficial. It was childish and wasteful of a night. Sleeping angry didn't seem to make a lot of sense for him. Sleeping was sacred; a time to clear one's head and a time for rest. Mixing it with anger contradicted all of that. So, Ezra, unable to resist, wrapped his arms around her and in response, Aria searched for his hands, and intertwined them with hers._


	6. Chapter 6

_"All good to go." He announced, grabbing the beach bag from the couch._

_"Oh, ugh." She made a face as he walked by her, letting his smell travel up her nose. Her sense of smell had gotten more sensitive due to her pregnancy. One little waft of an unpleasant smell could make her want to upchuck and some of the smells she used to love, she couldn't stand any longer._

_Ezra turned around. "What?" He asked, creasing his eyebrows at her._

_"What are you wearing?" She said while taking another sniff. "It's vile." She remarked, confusing him._

_He popped a collar and smelled himself. "…You're the one who got me this cologne." He reminded her._

_"I did?" Her eyebrows rose._

_"New Year's." He reminded her again._

_"It's disgusting." She stated with a sneer._

_"Well, what do you want me to do about it?"_

_"Can you change into something else? I don't think I can walk near you without wanting to vomit."_

_"A simple please would do, you know."_

_"Get rid of that stench. Please."_

_Ezra shook his head at her and turned away. "Four more months, Ezra, four more months." He muttered to himself as he walked back to their bedroom._

_"I heard that!" Aria shouted after him._

Leaning over, Ezra gave his daughter a goodbye kiss. "Behave yourself. I don't wanna have to find you a different sitter." He glanced at Aria. "Getting this one was pure luck." He told the baby as Aria sheepishly smiled to herself. "See you soon." He finally said to Aria and paused for a moment to look at her, almost expecting a maternal kiss from her.

"Take care of yourself." Aria replied and gave him a few more seconds to take a look at his daughter before walking back inside his apartment.

They overlapped voices over the phone. Spencer inhaled sharply. "It would have helped if you told me about it. I almost botched everything the other day."

"How do you mean?" He asked as he entered his class. Still empty. Nowadays, he made sure he arrived early to his classes to compensate for arriving late to work.

"Doesn't matter. Just next time, try and inform me, okay? Could you do that? Please?"

"Well, now, you know, don't you?"

"Yes, but I'd rather know beforehand, Ezra." She added. "I don't wanna have to look like I've just seen a ghost every time I see her in your apartment."

Ezra placed his messenger bag on top of the desk and exhaled deeply. "Hmm." He commented.

Pressing her fingers on her forehead, Spencer sighed. "I'm sorry. Poor choice of words."

"Beautiful use of metaphor though." He remarked, showing her that he was not upset by it.

"So, is this real? Is she going to be—"

"For now." He said cutting her off.

"You gotta be careful, you know. She's in your apartment. Who knows what she'll see?"

Ezra reflected for a moment, trying to picture his apartment and his personal belongings in certain places. Pictures, videos, labeled possessions then he remembered last night. He was showing his daughter some photos and realized he left the photo albums near the coffee table. There was a pang of panic that went through his body as he recalled the night completely.

The sound of the students coming in class grabbed his attention. Ezra cleared his throat. "I have to go. Call me if there's an emergency."

"Will do. Bye-bye." Spencer said and hung up immediately.

_Her hand hid inside his butt pocket while the other held onto her professional camera and they continued to walk at a slow pace. It was early May and spring had already felt like summer. This allowed her to walk outside without having to risk getting hypothermia or pneumonia. Aria admitted to herself that the daily walking got exhausting pretty fast especially with all the weight being carried in front of her, but Ezra seemed to enjoy the leisure walks. They spent their break roaming different parts of this new side of New York, the one they were unfamiliar with where streets weren't congested with yellow cabs and pedestrians._

_Ezra's arm went around her waist, pulling her closer. He noticed their pace slowing down even more so he shifted his eyes down on her, checking to see if she was alright._

_"Need to sit down?" He questioned and she shook her head. "We can sit down, bug. It's not a race." He reached for her camera and took it out her hold in order to lessen her weight._

_"We'll sit when we get there." She informed him and they continued to walk toward the end of the boardwalk._

_A few minutes later, Aria paused for a moment to catch her breath. The heat made her back sweat and it got worse over time that she needed to tie her hair up. "It's like hell out here." She stated and they approached an empty bench._

_"I'll get us some drinks. What do you want?"_

_"Surprise me."_

_Ezra flashed a smile and rushed off to one of the boardwalk stands. Shortly after, Aria saw Ezra holding a bottle of water and what seemed to be a plate of chocolate creme pie in the other hand._

_"Wow, I actually am surprised." Aria commented as he sat down next to her. "I thought we were just getting drinks."_

_"Funny story." He began._

_"Doubt it." She chimed in as he ignored her and continued on with excitement._

_"The woman from the stand saw us walking way down there." He flipped his hand at the end of the boardwalk. "She noticed your stomach, and felt—"_

_"Noticed my…" She creased her eyebrows and glanced down. "It's not that big, is it?" She exclaimed self-consciously. She lifted her eyes at him as he pressed his lips together. "You could try and say no to make me feel better. Some boyfriend you are."_

_"Shutterbug, you're pregnant. It's supposed to look like that."_

_"Like what?" She cocked an eyebrow._

_Ezra's mouth twitched. "Like…" He threw his hand out and pointed at her stomach. "Like…that." He laid his eyes on her, not wanting to get in trouble for saying the wrong thing. "Anyway, can I continue with my story?"_

_"I guess…" She muttered jokingly and reached for her camera._

_"She went into this whole anecdote, telling me she was pregnant recently. A healthy baby boy. Now three months old, apparently very—"_

_"Ezra, the story." She chimed in and brought the camera up to her face and took some shots of Ezra talking and the beach across from them._

_"Right, well, she said during her pregnancy, the only thing that helped her get through was this—" He raised the plate. "Homemade chocolate creme pie. She wanted you to have some. It's on the house, so you might as well try it." He put the plate down on the wooden bench, placing it right between them._

_"A hand me down craving. That's new." Aria quipped as they both took some piece and wolfed it down together._

_Ezra closed his eyes, trying to take in each flavor, and Aria watched his face, finding it a bit hysterical. So, she took more snapshots of his face._

_"That's good." He finally concluded and Aria nodded in agreement._

_"Really good." She said, setting the camera down and Ezra took it and took pictures of her now._

_"Isn't it?" He asked as he set the camera down._

_They both took another piece, clearly both blown away. Now this time, Aria closed her eyes as she chewed and Ezra smiled, leaning across to kiss her. Smiling in return, Aria continued to chew and moved her face to the side while he continued to plant kisses along her jaw line._

_"Ezra?"_

_"Hmm?" He replied, cupping the sides of her face. He continued to leave light kisses all over her face, not wanting to stop. Her skin felt warm and soft, and each time his lips brushed against it, it felt light and creamy._

_"You were right." She whispered._

_"About what?"_

_"Homemade stuff is always the best—" She said and he let out a chuckle. "Which is why you need to order a box of this." She said indicating the pie._

_Laughing louder, he nodded. "And you wonder why your stomach is the size of the moon."_

_"It's not." She licked her lips, pressing her nose against his face. "I love you."_

_Ezra breathed her smell. "You just want more pie." He pointed out as she chuckled while brushing the tip of her nose against his cheek._

Aria placed her in her little bouncy walker and she immediately began to bounce on her tiny feet. This was a lot easier than she had expected. The daily routine consisted of feeding, sleeping, and playing. She wasn't a hard-tempered baby. Perhaps he was just a good father, she thought to herself or maybe it was naturally all from the mother, that one she had yet to figure out.

Walking to the coffee table, Aria's eyes caught a glimpse and saw the bulky books under it, tingling her curiosity and reminding her of her pet peeves. She needed to clean it, organize the books into one place where it could look nice. She glanced back at the baby and saw the little one quickly tiptoeing to the kitchen.

"Hey, hey, hey, where you goin'?" She said as she hurriedly ran after the baby, leaving the mess for another time.

_They lay on their beach towel, watching the people reading and tanning around them while most went for a swim. Ezra scooted up closer and glanced up at her and her book._

_"Nice novel. How's the character development going?" He remarked with a smirk._

_Aria rolled her eyes and continued to scan through the baby names. "How does Missy sound?"_

_"No."_

_"No?"_

_Ezra shaded his eyes from the sun and moved up again, a lot closer to her now. "Missy Fitz?" He squinted at her. "Sounds like a syndrome and I'm not raising a brat. What about Seth?"_

_"That's a boy's name."_

_"It is."_

_"Then no."_

_Furrowing his brow, he tilted his head. "Why not?" He asked and immediately, Aria broke out into a sly smile. "…Because…we're having a girl?" He guessed then he propped himself up. "Why didn't you tell me? Since when did you—"_

_"Spencer and I went to the clinic a week ago and found out." She said, putting the book down._

_"Last time I checked Spencer was just a friend, not the one who impregnated you." He reminded her as he crawled up closer._

_"Are you disappointed?" She asked as they began to kiss._

_Ezra pulled back. "No, Spencer's your lady friend. I get it."_

_"I mean with the gender of the baby!" She slapped his arm._

_He looked at her straight in the eyes. "Now, why would you think that?" He took a deep breath and leaned in, kissing her tenderly once again and slightly pulled back, keeping their face inches away. "As long as we name her Ez—"_

_"No."_

_"Okay." He pressed his lips together. "It was worth a try."_

_She grabbed his face and pressed her lips against his harder. Settling above her, Ezra grabbed the beach towel on the side and covered themselves under it._

_"My stomach's really not that big is it?" She brought it back._

_"It's okay, you still have the face." He felt her pushing him off. "What?" He looked at her with wide eyes. "That was a compliment!"_

_"You just called me a whale."_

_"I—" He let out a light chuckle. "I promise you I did not say that."_

_"I will have you know I can still pick up any guy right now, at any bars just like I did with you."_

_Ezra laughed out loud now. "I don't doubt that, but when they see the—" He looked down at her stomach. "That's basically a y-chromosome repellent." He watched her glare piercing through him. "Wait a minute, you did not pick me up at a bar!" He said in a serious tone._

_"Didn't I, Ezra? Didn't I?"_

_"No, you didn't." He said not willing to give in. "I picked you up!"_

_"If you say so…" She trailed off with a faint smirk making him doubt himself._

"How was she?" Ezra hurriedly walked in as Aria carried her in her arms, sleeping soundly.

Aria gestured at his daughter. "Out like a light." She followed him to the living room and he moved quickly, seemingly anxious about something. "Are you looking for something?" She asked as Ezra stood over the coffee table.

"Oh, no, I was—" He looked up at her and smiled. "I thought I misplaced my—" He cleared his throat and caught a glimpse of the photo albums under the table. "My schedule planner." He reached down and pushed the books inside, hiding them completely.

Aria watched him and perked up. "Oh, I saw that." She commented as Ezra straightened up, a little baffled.

"Hmm?" His eyes reluctantly flickered at her.

"The books."

"You went through them?"

"Well, no, I was meaning to clean it up, but I got a little distracted." She said, lightly patting the baby's back, implying her as the source of said distraction.

"Aria…you don't have to clean up anything. Just—" He inhaled sharply and dropped the subject. "I should probably take her." He extended his arms toward his daughter and Aria gladly handed her over. "I'll just fetch my wallet." He said and walked to the table near the hallway where he set his keys and bag before rushing to the living room.

Putting on her coat, Aria followed him, waiting patiently. "I didn't mean to touch anything, it's just a pet peeve of mine." She said to him as he went back to her. "I didn't snoop." She added.

"It's not that at all. It's just that you're the babysitter, not my maid." He offered a smile and noticed she was wearing her coat now. He sighed disappointingly at himself. "I'm sorry. I've been rude—"

"What? No…"

"Did you want dinner? I brought dinner. I forgot all about it. I just—"

"I'm fine. I'll get something from work."

"Are you sure? I ordered more than enough for two people. I-I uhh…" He said with hopeful eyes, desperate to have her stay a little longer.

"I'm fine. Really. I have to get ready anyway." She insisted. It wasn't that she was eager to go to her other job or that she wasn't hungry, it was how nervous he acted around her. She assumed it was her fault, being around her made him jumpy and she didn't want to do that to anyone. She wanted to tell him to relax, but she couldn't find a way to do so without sounding rude.

Nodding, Ezra handed over her pay for the day. "Thank you again." He said softly.

Aria studied his eyes and he was suddenly calmer, and she realized that it was not calm. The look on his face couldn't be painted. He was downhearted and Aria felt something tugging in her chest.

"Umm, actually, I think I have an hour to spare. I'll take the dinner offer if it's still out there." She retreated, feeling compelled to say it.

Ezra breathed in and nodded with a faint smile. "Of course."

_Nights like this was perfect for lying in bed with a movie playing in the background. Their legs tangled as their bodies hid under the covers. Aria cuddled up to him as her eyes never left the television screen._

_"You know, I read somewhere that it wasn't good for couples to have a television set in their bedroom—"_

_"Shhh." Aria said, enthralled by the film._

_"Well, thank you for proving my point." Ezra said and went back to watching the movie. "Would you still want to be with me if I had the same case as Benjamin?"_

_Aria laughed softly and pulled him closer to her. "You already are like Benjamin in many ways."_

_"I am?" He asked curiously. "Brad Pitt is a handsome fella, I can see why—"_

_"—Mainly because the older you get, the more childish you become." She said as they both spoke over each other._

_"—you would say that." He finished his sentence and looked down at her. "Well, you're not exactly Daisy yourself." He retorted. Her head raised up and she stared at him. "What? Maybe just a little..the eyes…or how…graceful she—you both are—" He reluctantly said. These days, when she became upset or angry, there was no joking around so he tried very hard not to push her over the limit._

_"Ezra, I think we have a name."_

_"…We do?"_

_She slowly sat up, pushing on his chest. "Daisy." She bit her lower lip to contain her excitement. "Daisy Fitz."_

_He beamed at her. "Say it again."_

_"Daisy Fitz."_

_"Kinda just rolls off your tongue like ice, doesn't it?"_

_"Yeah." She nodded eagerly._

_"Should we celebrate?" He asked then Aria laughed softly, but nodded anyway. "Come here…" He said, gently pulling her arms closer to him._

He watched her slowly eating a slice of the chocolate creme pie. He smiled to himself and Aria quickly looked up and caught his smile.

"What's that for?" She asked quizzically.

"Nothing. Well, it's just that…I remember telling you about maybe having a slice of that pie and here you are." He said instantly and glanced down at his food while Aria kept her eyes on him, still curious.

"So, umm, we never got around to talking about her."

Ezra slowly lifted his eyes at her. "Hmm?"

"Your wife."

"Oh…" He licked his lips and gave a timid smile. "My wife." He could hear the word bouncing around in his head, mocking him. "She—"

"You don't have to tell me why she's not around." She said. "I think I've got the gist of it." She added. "I guess I just want to know something else about her."

"Umm, well…" He scratched his left eyebrow. "She was a potty mouth."

Aria chuckled. "I wasn't expecting that to be the first thing you'd say about her."

"What were you expecting?" He inquired and swallowed hard as he kept his eyes on her.

She shrugged and twirled the fork between her fingers. "Something…poetic." She gazed at him.

Ezra breathed deeply and brushed the table cloth with his thumb, feeling the soft texture of it and studied the pure color of the shade. White and simple like how he always saw Aria. Ezra felt the words floating before him. Before she was even a thought and before he even knew what he wanted to look for, there had always been a sense of assurance that somewhere between their own little timeline, they were meant to meet and align for many years to come.

"I'm not much of a poet." He simply said and smiled.

By the glint of his eyes, Aria could feel that he was still unconditionally in love with the woman from his past even if he wasn't able to put it in words.

_Their kissing became feverish, bodies twisting against each other and their whispered words soon became indistinguishable to themselves._

_He swept her hair to one side as she pushed down on his chest, kissing him relentlessly. Suddenly, she pulled away._

_"No, no, why…" He said softly and opened his eyes to gaze up at her. "What happened?"_

_With a deep sigh, Aria looked at him with sorry eyes. "I can't do this—"_

_"No, no, no, why? What's wrong?" He furrowed his brow and felt her slipping out of his hold and settling herself back on the bed beside him._

_"This…" She gestured at her stomach. "I don't feel—" She looked at him. "I feel like a whale."_

_His head hung in disbelief. "Aria." He said in a solid tone of voice. "If you were a whale, I'd be totally okay with that."_

_She scrunched her face at him. "That's just disturbing."_

_"I'm just saying, you're fine. I don't understand why you're being like this."_

_"I'm like this because I can't even sit up without having to roll over like a fucking trained animal. Let alone have sex with you."_

_He sighed deeply then ran his hands over his face, knowing he would not win this battle. "Do you want me to turn off the lights or are you planning to read before bed?" He asked in a defeated tone, knowing her routine._

_"Lights off sounds good."_

_He moved and stretched himself, reaching for the lamp that was on her nightstand. Aria rested on her side and felt his front pressing against her back._

_"I can't reach it, babe." He commented._

_"Yes, you can." She glanced over at him while he towered over her._

_"Well, I used to, but now your stomach is blocking my way—" He joked as he let out a laugh._

_"You're such an asshole." She retorted and felt Ezra leaning down on her, his throat shaking from his laughter._

_Ezra kissed her cheek over and over again until his laugh died out and she shook her head at him._

_"If I ever lose my sight…" He whispered to her as he nibbled her plump cheek for a little bit. "I hope you're the last glimpse of an image I see. Just how you look now while carrying Daisy…" He continued as she slightly turned to face him. "Then perhaps I won't be so bitter about going blind."_

_Aria stared at him. He always knew how to turn things around with a snap of a finger or rather with a string of words. Her hand went up to his face, pinching his chin and pulling him in for a kiss._

_Smoothly, Ezra reached down and tugged on her panties, slipping them off while brushing his lips with hers. Aria stayed on her side as he took off his own boxers._

_"Unbelievable." She muttered, bringing a smile to his face. "It's like you have a switch for being wholly romantic and for being a sex addict."_

"Fucking prick." She grumbled under her breath. Hanna reached for Spencer's hand, calming her down. "I should have told Ezra."

"No. No!" Hanna instantly said. "You can't do that. You won't do that because I told you so, okay? Just—" She heaved a breath. "Just wait it out."

"What if we wait too long? What if she buys it?" Spencer countered.

"Knowing those two, there's no way in hell a guy like Wren could ever steal away what they have."

"Had, Hanna, what they_ had. _It's not the same. I'm worried for her."

"We all are."

"I'm worried things wouldn't work out as we planned."

"It will. It always does. They'll come back." Hanna simply said, patting her hand.

"Goodnight." Aria said.

He smiled sweetly and tilted his head. "See you in the morning." He softly replied, taking his moment to cherish her face. Nervously yet comfortable enough to act upon it, Ezra stepped closer and planted a light kiss on her cheek. Aria arched her eyebrows, completely taken aback by him. He glanced at the floor and furrowed his brow at himself. "I'm sorry, that was over the line, wasn't it?" He embarrassingly looked at her.

"I should go." She simply said and Ezra nodded with his tail between his legs.

_They remained in a spooning position; it was a lot easier for her this way, convenient how she didn't have to deal with her own weight._

_Ezra pulled the sheets around them as he let out a few soft grunts, running his lips over her arm while his left hand went around her front._

_Somehow twisting her left arm, Aria managed to blindly grab a hold of his hair as he continued to thrust. "Oh, fuck—" She let go of him and gripped onto the mattress, moaning softly to herself._

_Ezra raised himself up a bit and at each thrust, he muffled his own sounds by pressing his mouth to her shoulder blades, kissing it at the same time. He shut his eyes and breathed heavily as he continued on, lost in her. Her hand went around his leg, pulling him closer and the sounds she continued to make drove him to the edge._

_Letting his teeth graze over her skin, Ezra kissed her shoulder yet again and up to the nape of her neck. Biting her gingerly, Ezra softly groaned while she cried out in return as her hand went back around his head, pulling on his hair again and gradually, their breathing slowed down while his arm was safely clutched around her upper body._

_Aria could feel his lips against her shoulder blade again, receiving light kisses here and there. She began to laugh and held onto his left arm._

_"What's so funny?" He asked, his mouth still against her skin._

_"You."_

_Ezra wrapped his arm tighter around her chest. "What did I do?"_

_"Everything. You would literally do and say anything for sex."_

_"Not all the time." He made a face and finally moved away from her, sighing satisfyingly. "But I've always wanted to have sex with a pregnant woman just to see how it would feel." He said as he gazed at the ceiling. "You're my first." He said turning his head to her._

_"Boy, you have no idea how glad I am to hear that." She said sarcastically and turned her head to him._

_"You are." He repeated._

_She chuckled and moved closer to him, letting her head rest on his chest. "Surprise, surprise, you've always been my first." She reminded him. "It's actually kind of strange thinking about it." She said quietly and pressed her chin on his chest._

_"You're a one kind of girl." He pointed out. "I've always loved that about you." It was true. She was an only child, he was her only guy, and she had one best friend._

_"Well, it makes me feel like a nun." She cut in._

_"If all nuns looked like you…" He muttered as he brushed her arm. "I would not mind being a priest." His hands rested on her lower back._

_"That doesn't make sense at all." She said and she could feel his heart still racing._

_"Does it have to?" His voice changing into a husky tone._

_"Okay, I think you're just sleep talking now." She looked up at him and recognized his drowsy face. "Of course…" She rolled her eyes and moved herself up closer to his face. Aria smiled and lightly brushed her lip against his. "Hey…you're falling asleep on me, mister."_

_"Am not." He whispered, feeling her fingers running through his hair. "Well, when you do that…" His voice was light now. His eyes began to feel heavy so he shut them lightly._

_"Why do you always have to fall asleep right away after sex?"_

_"No…" He smiled sleepily and kept his eyes closed._

_"You didn't even give me a right answer for that." She scoffed and kept on running her hand through his hair. "You're not even gonna say goodnight to me?" She pecked on his lips while pushing his hair back, pushing him closer to sleep._

_"Goodnight, Aria." He said and felt her lips against his once again. "Goodnight, Daisy." He added in the lightest voice as he gradually gave in to sleep._

_Aria chuckled to herself and stared at his face before kissing him one last time. Before tearing herself away, she whispered something against his mouth._

_She was aware that he would not remember anything. Perhaps there would be a subconscious way for him to know and if that were to happen then she could leave this life a content woman, knowing that some divine fate was always on their side right from the very start._


	7. Chapter 7

**_Thank you for the lovely reviews! It still shocks me when I read one. So thank you!_**

**_SolitudeMyLove: How many chapters do you think this story will be?  
- I'm not sure yet actually, I'm still writing them.  
thenameismg: How much of the show's general plot (A, Alison's murder, the Jenna thing) has happened in this story?  
- None. There was never -A or Ali's murder. This is completely unrelated to the show's plot other than Ezra being Aria's former teacher back in Rosewood._**

* * *

_She tiptoed out of bed and glanced back at his sleeping posture. Grabbing the car keys from the dresser, Aria continued to shuffle through their bedroom, getting her coat and purse, and finally reaching the door. As she opened it, there came the loud creaking._

_"Aria?" Ezra's groggy voice floated in the air and Aria shut her eyes, drawing her head back for a second. "Where you goin'?" He asked as he slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes._

_Aria turned around, biting her lower lip. "Nowhere." She whispered, hoping this would be one of those instances where he would wake up for a second and fall back to sleep right after._

_Furrowing his brow, Ezra noticed the car keys in her hands. Unfortunately, this was not one of those moments. "Are you—" He climbed out of bed and walked to her as Aria rolled her eyes, anticipating his scolding. "What is this? What in the world do you think you're doing?"_

_"I was just—"_

_"Aria, I know you weren't thinking of driving by yourself." He narrowed his eyes on her and she stayed quiet. "Fucking hell, Aria, what are—"_

_"I just wanted to take a drive!" She retorted, throwing her hands out._

_"At three in the morning? What are you thinking? You're seven months pregnant and you're going out—"_

_She groaned, cutting him off. "I'm sorry! Here—" She pressed the car keys against his chest. "It's done, okay?" She said._

_"Why didn't you just wake me up?" He asked, keeping his hand on the keys on his chest._

_Tilting her head to the side, Aria gazed at him and shrugged. "You have to get up early in the morning." She reminded him._

_"What were you planning to do?" Ezra asked again._

_"I don't know." She said as Ezra stared on, waiting for the real explanation. "I'm fucking starving! There."_

_Ezra shook his head at her and ultimately smiled. "C'mon…" He inhaled deeply._

"Hiya. How are you doing?" Wren greeted as Aria stepped out of the apartment building, looking radiant.

"We'll see." She put on a smile and clutched onto her purse, ready for this dinner date. It took her a couple of weeks to decide, but Wren was relieved after his second try and getting a yes in return.

"You look very lovely." He complimented as they walked to his car.

"You too." She said and Wren opened the door for her and she gave another smile before getting in.

_He watched her as she finished the slice of pie from the box. They stayed inside the car, completely alone in the parking lot._

_"You're nuts." He commented. "You're absolutely nuts." He said once again and he reached for the radio and played one of his CDs: 'For your precious love means more to me…'_

_"Who knew you'd be spending your life watching a pregnant woman eat a chocolate pie in the parking lot, listening to Otis Redding at three o'clock in the morning?" She replied and wiped her mouth. Smiling and shaking his head, Ezra unfastened his seat belt and reached over to kiss her. "I love this song by the way." She whispered as he continued to kiss her lovingly. "It would do for a wedding song." She said although not intentionally trying to imply the subject of marriage._

_She felt Ezra's lips slowly getting softer and before she knew it, he had pulled away to look at her. Aria's lips faintly formed into a frown as she looked back at him, wanting him to say something before she put her foot in her mouth._

_"Could be." He said under his breath. Aria smiled softly and cupped the side of his face, kissing him again._

"Sorry." Aria quickly said to him as the phone kept buzzing.

"It's alright. You can answer it."

Aria shook her head vigorously. "No, it's just Spencer." She told him and Wren stiffened up his posture. She checked her phone as the call went to voicemail. "See?" She said, looking up at him.

"I like your—" He tapped his wrist with his fingertip, gesturing at her watch with the UK flag design. "Did you wear that on purpose? For me?" He said with a soft chuckle.

"Well…yes…remember Spencer?" She asked rhetorically. "She gave it to me as a present."

"Ah." Wren nodded simply and reached for his drink. "Is she the same person who gave you the Hopper painting?"

Aria gave a nod as Wren looked at her sympathetically, forcing a smile.

_Ezra entered the bathroom and saw her in the bathtub with her head resting on the outer end of the tub as the soapy foam covered the surface. She was submerged in the water while her stomach stuck out a bit and this sight made him feel a sense of bliss that he never truly felt in his lifetime. Seeing her this way, with his own child, was gratifying and if he were to ever keep a certain memory, this whole experience with her would be it._

_As he walked closer to her, he tilted his head and greeted her with a simple hello._

_Aria opened her eyes and looked up only to be greeted with a peck on the lips from him. "Hi, how did the little gig go?" She asked while her hands ran over her stomach._

_"You know how weddings can be." He examined her from top to bottom._

_"No, not really." She pointed out as he nodded with a chuckle._

_He wasn't sure if there was something more to what she said. They rarely talked about weddings or marriage, specifically. But when it came to his own marriage, he was undecided. He believed in it; the whole concept of being figuratively tied with that one person you promised to love, but he didn't want to rush it._

_As for her, she anticipated it, planned how it would go ever since she was old enough to know about it. But all the while, she never brought it up in a serious conversation. She wanted it to be genuine, to come from him instead of shoving the idea down his throat like some women would with their men. That was one thing she was patient with, waiting for him to pop the question because sooner or later, it was bound to happen and she took comfort in knowing that._

_"How's this little spa going?" He questioned with a smirk._

_"Good. She…" She exhaled sharply. "She wouldn't stop kicking so I thought maybe this would help."_

_"Did it work?" He saw her nod in response. "Can I join you two?"_

_"If you can fit, I suppose you can." She said, sitting up and pressing her legs on one side for more space._

_He began to take off his clothes and very carefully, he dipped into the water and sat across from her. Ezra reached for her foot and began to massage it. "One more month." He said softly and gazed at her._

_"Time flies, doesn't it?"_

_"Sadly, yes. Fortunately, yes." Ezra reached over and put his hand over her stomach, feeling for a kick._

_"She's not gonna do it." Aria told him, knowing exactly what he was expecting. Ezra pulled away and leaned back. He turned his head and saw the customized towelettes hanging from the little rail near the wall._

_"Whoa, that is some nice embroidery going over there. Did you make that?" He pointed at the towelettes and Aria turned her head in his direction._

_"Housewarming gift from Wren, but thank you for thinking I can knit."_

_"Where's mine?"_

_Laughing softly, Aria shook her head._

Ezra set her down on the bed and spread out some photos of her mother in front of Daisy. He clapped his hands once, trying to get her attention. "Are we all ears?" He asked as Daisy waved her little toy at him. "Okay, who's this? Do you know who this is?" He took a photo and displayed it in front of her eyes. Daisy reached over and took the photo with her little hand, wrinkling it. "Say mommy, can you say mommy for me?" He said, leaning closer to her face.

Ever since Spencer mentioned the babbling in their conversation, Ezra had felt incompetent as a father for not witnessing Daisy talking in gibberish. All she did was whimper and cry. He couldn't stop but think that he was doing something very wrong.

"Mommm…" He slowly enunciated and saw Daisy opening her mouth, imitating him. Ezra shook the photo in his hand and pointed at it. "Mommy. Say mommy, little bug." He repeated.

_They unconsciously flipped their book page at the same time. Aria, completely into her reading, was nonchalantly running her fingers through his hair as his head stayed rested upon her lap._

_Reading his own book, Ezra furrowed his brow and scooted his head up a bit. Shifting his neck to the side, he faced her stomach and gazed up at her. He loved Sundays. Sundays were simple, reminding him of the very old days where husbands and wives lived humbly and in peace, days where he never had the chance to live in, but Sundays with her gave him a small piece of that._

_"How's the reading goin'?" He asked as she kept on brushing his hair._

_"Not well if you're gonna interrupt." Aria said without looking at him. She flipped onto the next page._

_Ezra moved his face closer to her stomach, kissing it. "I can already tell who your favorite is going to be." He joked with his mouth pressed against it, muffling his voice._

_"I heard that." She muttered._

_"I wasn't trying to whisper it." He remarked and looked up at her again. "I—" He began to say but the sound of the phone ringing interrupted him in mid sentence._

_Ezra sat up in one fluid motion and walked to the coffee table. He answered the phone. "Hello? Yes, speaking." He said and glanced at Aria who had put her book down to watch him. "In ten minutes?" Ezra asked and glanced at the clock on the wall. "Sure. Sure, I'll be there. Yeah, it's no problem." He nodded. "I'll see you soon." He said and hung up._

_"You're leaving?" Aria asked as she got up from the couch._

_"They need another guy to record some kid's birthday party."_

_"Now?" She whined._

_"It'll only be for three hours." Ezra told her and watched her face._

_Aria sighed. "Why can't you just get Wren to do it?"_

_Approaching her, Ezra tilted his head with an apologetic smile. "Because Wren is busy trying to save lives, remember?" He pointed out._

_Wren was his business partner. Sometimes, Ezra wondered why he would need the extra money, but he didn't mind him tagging along. His persuasiveness caught a lot of clients so he wasn't exactly a disadvantage._

_"I was really enjoying our Sunday." She said, pulling her puppy dog eyes._

_"That's not gonna work on me." He said regarding her face. Aria rolled her eyes and stared at him. "I'll be home before you can say catawampus." He added._

_"Cata-what?" She scrunched her face._

_"See?" He leaned closer to her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "You didn't take any of my equipments out of the bag, did you?" He asked and Aria shook her head. "I'll be back as quickly as possible."_

"Yeah? Maybe tomorrow." He said on the phone. "Hardy, man, listen—" He rubbed his eye and paced back and forth just to make sure Daisy wouldn't grow bored of him just standing still. "Can I call you back? I will. Yes, as soon as possible. Okay. Talk to you later." He said and hung up, tossing the phone at his bed.

Moments later, Ezra fastened the chest strap, keeping her snug and close to his torso. He then walked to the dresser, grabbing a small bag that had her snack and milk all prepared just in case she decided to throw a fit.

"Alrighty, let's go hiking." He announced as Daisy dangled in his little modern sling.

_"Hey! This is a nice surprise." She slowly smiled as Wren entered the apartment. "I thought you were working?" She asked and they headed for the living room._

_"Overstaffed."_

_"Really?"_

_"No! How I wish." He grinned at her gullibility. "It's a special day for me so I took work off and thought I could take you guys out for dinner tonight. I already made a party for three reservation."_

_"What's the occasion?"_

_"What's the—" He let out an incredulous chuckle. "Five years from now, remember?"_

_Aria squinted at him and scrunched up her face. "No…sorry. But I know it's not your birthday…"_

_"It's our anniversary! I met you guys five years ago! This very same day. Wouldn't be here without you two!"_

_"I didn't know we—you celebrate that too." She furrowed her brow. "It didn't really seem like something worth celebrating over for."_

_"Well, you shouldn't underrate your self worth." He told her and Aria rolled her eyes. "But anything to get out of work, to be quite honest." He jested and put his hands together. "So, c'mon, get dressed and—"_

_"Ezra went out to do a small event, but he should be back in a few hours?"_

_Checking his watch, Wren heaved a sigh. "We might end up losing the reservation." He said to her and pursed his lips to the side._

_"Umm…" Aria bit her lower lip and shrugged. "I'm sorry." She began to shake her head. "Guess it's just us two?"_

_Wren broke out into a smile. "Yeah, that'll do."_

_"Or I could call up Spencer. Make up for Ezra's spot?"_

_He slowly nodded. "Sure."_

The Sleeping Rock was known for leisure walks and it provided a wonderful overview of the neighborhood; memories were also made here. As they climbed closer to the end of the hill, Ezra paused to skim over the landscape, recalling bits and pieces of his own memories.

Daisy, like her mother, grew impatient and began to squirm in her little position, compelling Ezra to pick up on his walking again. Finally reaching the top of the hill, they proceeded to go to the very end where they could see the full view of the city. Ezra sat on the edge of the huge rock ledge that was designed to face the view and sat there for a quite a while, admiring the trees and the life just below.

Noticing her from the corner of his eye, Ezra finally faced the woman with the camera to her face, looking in his direction.

The woman slowly looked up and stared at him with a bashful smile on her face. "I'm sorry, you two looked really serene, I thought I'd take a picture—"

He waved his hand. "It's alright." He gave her a smile. "She's used to it." He added, gesturing at Daisy.

"Oh? Are you a photographer?" She asked as she approached them.

"Nope, she's just used to having cameras around, so." He simply told her. "I'm Ezra, by the way. If you wanted to name that photo of us. Ezra and Daisy." He offered a smiled.

"That has a nice ring to it." She replied. "I'm Emily." She informed him. "Just Emily." She quipped and the two got close enough for a handshake. "Very lovely to meet you. And you too, sweetheart." She said cooing at Daisy.

"She says nice to meet you too, Just Emily." He joked and looked down at Daisy.

Emily studied Ezra, observing his left hand and saw that he wasn't wearing a ring nor were there any tan lines of previous rings that indicated he was married before.

"May I?" She asked and Ezra read her face and immediately gestured next to his spot. Emily waved at Daisy with a friendly smile. "Her eyes are gorgeous." She stated. "Sorry, I have a thing for eyes. They've always been a good feature to photograph."

"Well, you can thank her mother for hers." Ezra revealed, looking at Daisy's eyes and admiring it as much as this stranger was.

_Wren kept his eyes on the road as Aria sat next to him and Spencer in the backseat._

_"Hey, mind if you get something for me in the glove box?" Wren asked. "It's a blue box. Should be right there."_

_Aria looked at him before opening the glove box. Taking out the small box, Aria furrowed her brow. "What's this?"_

_"Well, you know you could open it and see for yourself."_

_Spencer leaned close to see what Aria was holding and saw a silver watch with a UK flag design._

_"This is stunning, Wren. Who's the lucky lady?" She joked and nudged him with her finger._

_Wren let out a laugh and shook his head. After a long silence, Wren realized she was being serious so he turned his head to her and cocked an eyebrow._

_"Aria, it's for you." Spencer chimed in as Aria slowly came into her realization._

_"What?" She let out and looked at Wren in disbelief. "What the hell for?" She asked and Wren shrugged with a smirk on his face. "Wren!" Aria tilted her head at him. "This is—"_

_"Oh, don't make such a big deal out of it. You act like nobody's ever given you a gift before." He jested and smiled again._

_Aria reached over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "The benefits of having a doctor for a friend." She joked as Wren groaned out loud._

_Watching their interaction, Spencer did not feel a bit jealous over this, but rather pity for her best friend. Pity for her naivety and how she easily bestowed her trust in people. Unlike Aria, Spencer did not see this as natural and suspected Wren had some other ulterior motive. But there was nothing to prove that. He never harassed her or threatened her in any way, and for a moment, she despised herself for misjudging a simple act of kindness. Perhaps she actually was jealous and that the idea of a platonic relationship between a man and a woman seemed possible whenever Spencer looked at them._

"That's amazing." Emily admitted as they walked down the hill and back to the parking lot. "I've always wanted to make my own dark room ever since I picked up photography."

"Well, it's not as complicated as it seems." Ezra informed her. "Took us only a day to build. All you really need is a good water supply nearby." He added and Emily noticed that he mentioned his wife again. They finally made his way back to his car. He glanced around. "You…" He began to say.

"Oh, no, I don't have a car. I mean I have one, but I just…I jogged here." She said and broke out into a laugh.

"Really? Wow, from where? I mean, what part of—"

"Oh, it was just a few blocks away. Reynolds Street." She told him.

Ezra arched his brow. "Reynolds Street? The one near Green's market?"

"Yeah!" She grinned. "You live close?"

"A couple of streets away actually."

"Ha, would you look at that?"

Smiling, Ezra nodded. "Well, you know, if you still want that dark room built, just take a quick jog around my street, find me, and I'd be glad to help."

"Aw, I'll take note of that."

_"Excuse me, ladies." Wren said and gestured at his phone. "Unbelievable, it's work—"_

_"You don't owe us an explanation." Aria jumped in and waved her hand, indicating him to take the call, and Wren nodded gratefully at Spencer and Aria._

_Watching him walk out of the restaurant, Spencer's eyes went to Aria who drank her glass of wine. "He's a bit too generous, isn't he? Especially with you."_

_Aria laughed as she put down her drink. "What does that even mean?"_

_"I mean, what guy celebrates…whatever the hell this is…"_

_"He's being a gentleman and he can afford it so why not?"_

_"A little too imposing for a gentleman…" Spencer muttered to herself as she reached for her drink._

_"Hey—" Aria moved her head to the side, getting irritated. "Do you have something against him or…"_

_"Oh, I really hope you're just pretending not to see it."_

_Letting out a scoff, Aria furrowed her brow. "Excuse me?"_

_"The guy takes whatever excuse he can get to spend more time with you. And he gives you gifts, you kiss him on the cheek—"_

_"Oh please tell me you're kidding." Aria cut in and saw Spencer looking at her squarely. "Spencer, I've known him for years."_

_"Five years barely mean anything." She muttered._

_"And he and Ezra are practically best friends. You're unbelievable! I can't even imagine that you, out of all people, would think that."_

_"I'm only saying it as a friend, it's not you that I'm—"_

_"No. No." She took her napkin, wiped her mouth, and got up from her seat. "I'm gonna hit the ladies' room and I hope when I come back, this attitude goes back to wherever you got it from because Wren does not deserve to be talked about in this way." She said solidly. "He's a good friend and he means well. Nothing else. Nothing more, okay?" She said, giving her friend a quick irritated glare._

_Spencer heaved a deep sigh and reached for her drink, wanting this dinner to be over with._

_Shaking her head in front of the mirror, Aria exhaled slowly. She knew Spencer was right about Wren. Aria was far from being gullible and she hoped Spencer also knew that._

_It just didn't seem humane for one person to tell another that he or she, or in this case, Wren, couldn't feel whatever he was feeling because it simply wasn't 'right'. People weren't always so lucky to have control over their feelings. Aria always believed Wren was one of the unlucky ones. Maybe and admittedly it was wrong to entertain his feelings for her, but she surely was not going to constrain him from feeling it either. The least she could do was to let him have it, knowing that he was never going to go anywhere with her unless some divine power decided to meddle with her and Ezra which seemed unlikely._

_But one thing she always told herself, she would never stop a living soul from loving someone, and that she didn't have the right to and nobody really had the right to do such thing in the first place._


	8. Chapter 8

_**- "Clueless: There are so many questions and I hope you at least drop a hint or tell us what happen with Aria in your next upcoming chapter." **_**Patience. :) of course, it'll be explained. It'd be terrible if I left it as that.**

_**- "Anon: This story couldn't be more depressing if it tried..."  
**_**Is that a challenge? :D**

_**- "Elyka74: Em and Aria weren't friends here?"  
**_**Nope, like I said, this story has very little connection with PLL's plot...which means, yep, Emily is not gay.**

**Thank you for the reviews! - Queen**

* * *

_"Say hi to the camera, bug." Ezra approached their bed, not moving the camera away from her focus._

_Aria covered her face. "Oh, c'mon, Ezra, not now." She said as she stayed in bed, too exhausted to move an inch. "I look like a pig that's been left in a sauna for too long."_

_"Now is the perfect time and you don't look too shabby for a sweaty pig." He argued and climbed into bed with the camera still steady in his right hand. Kneeling in front of her, Ezra smiled and zoomed in on her stomach. "Almost there…"_

_"C'mon, turn it off." Aria groaned and felt his body trapping her own although there was a significant distance separating them due to her bulging belly. Removing her hands away from her face, Aria looked at him as he continued to film her stomach._

_"Anything you wanna say?" He asked and focused the camera on her face now._

_"I've always hated that camera." She retorted, making him chuckle._

_"One day, this thing will be in your favor."_

_"Yeah, when it breaks."_

_Ezra laughed again and put the camera on the nightstand, leaving it recording. He went back to her and propped himself up. "You know…" He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "We can make a sex tape right now."_

_"No! What is wrong with you?" She put her hands up to his chest and Ezra laughed, kissing the side of her face._

_"C'mon, I've got the right equipment." He moved closer to her ear to whisper. "And I've got the camera." He interjected coolly, making her laugh this time._

_"I don't know if you've noticed, but we've got a planet between us so…no."_

_Ezra pulled away and glanced at her stomach. "Traveling a billion light years is nothing if it means—"_

_"No." She said not allowing him to continue on._

_Inhaling deeply, Ezra finally gave up and settled himself beside her. Remembering the camera, he reached for it and pointed it back at her. "Goodnight."_

_Aria offered a smile before moving close to it and giving the lens a kiss. "Goodnight, you." She said before turning away._

Buzzing him in, Wren quickly stepped inside the apartment building and proceeded to the lobby. It was a Friday so he didn't expect to see Ezra around. But that was his mistake because universities had different schedules and Wren only found this out when Ezra called for his name before he could make a turn to Aria's apartment.

Turning to face him, Wren raised his brow. "Ezra! How have you been, mate?" He asked as he walked to him and Daisy who stayed in her baby stroller that was clearly way too big for her size.

"What's goin' on? What are you doing here?" Ezra asked, pleasantly surprised to see his friend's face.

The men gave a quick hug. Things had been a little different. Ezra assumed he was busy with work and he understood how much impact Aria had on him so it was understandable for Wren to stay away and have his time alone. He didn't peg Wren to be the affectionate kind of guy and he believed that for most guys anyway, but not with Wren. Daily visits weren't expected, but it had been a few months since they last saw each other. He didn't want to think it was strange, but for friends as close as they were, that time of separation felt a bit off.

"I actually just stopped by to see how you were doing. I'm sorry, it's been…hectic." He forced a smile and glanced at Daisy then quickly lifted his eyes back at Ezra, seemingly unable to look at the baby for too long.

"Great, just fantastic. Daisy and I were just going out for a walk. Care to tag along?" Ezra said and began to push the stroller.

"Sure, yeah!" Wren immediately said. "Some catching up would be nice." He added before stealing a glance at Aria's hallway.

_This was it, he thought as he remained outside the delivery room. Ezra put his anxious hands pressed against his lips as he stayed seated, waiting for the doctor to come out with the big news._

_The sound of doors opening made him look up and he saw Aria's doctor coming out so he swiftly stood up to meet with her._

_"How are they?" Ezra said with a grin that went from ear-to-ear. "I didn't hear any screaming so I'm assuming it was good." He jested as the doctor looked at him with a faint somber smile. Ezra's eyes skimmed her face and furrowed his brow at her expression. "Is Daisy alright?"_

_"Mr. Fitz, your little girl is perfectly healthy." She replied, making him smile again, then she pressed her lips together. "However, I—"_

_"What?" Ezra cut her off and grew impatient. "What's going on?"_

_"I'm so sorry, but…" She tried to compose herself._

_"What happened?"_

_She breathed out. "Miss Montgomery, she had complications breathing and—" She looked at him square in the eyes. "She didn't make it."_

_"Okay." He cut in and stared at the doctor. "But she's fine? Aria's alright now, right?" He asked as the doctor stared right back at him, fully aware that he was in shock and that her words did not sink in whatsoever._

_The doctor slowly shook her head. "Mr. Fitz…"_

_Ezra shook his head and he could already feel the swelling of his tears in his eyes. "No, no, no, no." He said and looked up at the room across from him. Picking his weight off of the ground, Ezra bolted for the room. He busted the doors open and furrowed his brow at the empty room._

_His eyes flew wide open as he lay in bed, frozen and staring at the ceiling; his breathing heavy and staggering. Ezra quickly turned his head and saw her back turned to him. Propping himself in one elbow, he began to shake her by her shoulder."Aria?" He asked in an alarming tone and she grumbled under her breath. "You awake?"_

_"Ezra…" She whined in a sleepy and irritated voice as she shrugged her shoulder off of him._

_"Sorry." Exhaling sharply, Ezra swallowed hard and shut his eyes. "Fuck. Fuck." He let out under his breath._

_"What?…" She chimed in and turned to face him. Ezra opened his eyes again and could see the outline of her face and he felt the relief shooting through his body, feeling grateful to see a mere trace of her even in the dark._

Opening the door, Aria glanced back and forth and was left confused for a moment. "Wren?" She called out and waited for a moment before stepping back inside her apartment with a furrowed brow.

She walked back to her living room, picked up her phone and dialed his number.

Immediately checking his phone ringing, Wren read her name and took a cautious glance at Ezra who looked back at him.

"Sorry, work." Wren excused and ignored the call with the press of a button.

"Speaking of work, you must have been buried in it. You couldn't even bother picking up your phone to call me." Ezra said but not in an accusing manner. He was curious for his friend's sudden disappearance, but not to an extent that he would be bitter about it.

"I know." Wren said, biting the inside of his cheek. "I'm sorry I haven't been there for you." He turned to Ezra.

"Hey, what does it matter?" Ezra cheerfully said. "As long as you're alright." He tapped his shoulder and continued on rolling the stroller as Wren stayed a little behind him, slowly resenting himself.

_"I just think it's a better idea. It's safe." He said and stayed seated as she moved around the living room, trying to organize things just for the sake of wanting to do something although she needed to admit to herself that she was a little bit of a neat freak._

_"I'm fine! I don't need to go for another week or two, Ezra." Aria snapped and stood still, holding her stomach for a moment. She glanced down and saw her pants. She never thought she'd trade her skinny jeans for elastic ones, not so early and so soon anyway._

_Ezra ran his hands over his face, a bit exhausted from arguing. "What's so bad about checking in early, huh? What's the downside? Please, tell me. I'm all ears."_

_"Money—"_

_"Money's not an issue."_

_"Then boredom." She quickly replied. "I don't wanna spend weeks staring at the white hospital walls."_

_"You're about to pop one out, the last thing you need is excitement. Let alone physical—"_

_"Will you drop it?" Aria sneered at him, clearly losing her battle. "I'm not going." She saw him let out a sigh so she walked to him and sat down. "Why are you so anxious all of a sudden?"_

_"I'm not anxious. I just don't want you screaming 'my water broke!' while I'm away at work and you'd have nobody around when that time comes." He explained with exaggeration. "I'm just trying to make this easier for you."_

_"Well, that time isn't coming soon so why don't you try and make things easier for yourself?" She told him with less sass. Taking his hands, Aria tilted her head at him. "Hey…" She said softly, forcing Ezra to look at her and so he did a bit unwillingly. "Trust me. I'm okay."_

_"For now." He added and Aria's eyes narrowed on him suspiciously._

_"Okay, what's going on?" She inquired, knowing the look on his face when he was hiding something._

_"Nothing is going on. Is it not normal for someone to feel concern—"_

_"No, but you're never concerned arbitrarily."_

_Ezra shook his head and squeezed her small hands. "I just want you to be there when it's all over." He stated, confusing Aria for a second._

A little after late afternoon, they headed back to the apartment building. Wren kept to himself, not exactly in his right state to engage in any conversation. His mind was too preoccupied after missing Aria's little meet up and the spontaneity of crashing into Ezra all at the same time.

Ezra led the way. "You wanna come in for a drink—" He began to say before getting cut off.

"Hey!" Aria greeted the men, directly at Wren first. "I thought someone abducted you for a second. Where'd you go?"

Wren took a deep breath and forced out a chuckle as Ezra watched and confusion masked over his face. For a moment, he couldn't figure out who Aria was talking to exactly. The silence was interrupted with Daisy's cry, finally causing Ezra to move.

"See you later, Aria." He quickly said and glanced back at Wren, looking at him like he was a stranger all of a sudden.

With a beaming smile, Aria took some steps closer to Wren and fixed her eyes on him, awaiting his turn to speak up.

_Weeks had passed and they were checked in, dreading yet anticipating the next hour to come. Spotting him sitting outside Aria's room, Spencer picked up her pace and excitedly approached him._

_"Hey there!" Spencer exclaimed with a glossy gift bag dangling from her hand._

_Ezra lifted his eyes at her and nodded once. "Spencer."_

_"Damn, you look like you're the one who's about to give birth." She remarked, seeing the color of his face draining. "Maybe we should get you a room."_

_Glaring at her, Ezra got up from his seat and shook off his hands. "I'm fine. I just need some coffee." He told her and Spencer followed after him._

_"You sure that's the best drink for you right now?" She commented._

_Ezra stopped in his tracks and looked back at her. "Will you stay there?" He said cocking his head in the opposite direction. "In case anything happens."_

_Sighing, she rolled her head to the side. "Will you relax? Nothing is gonna happen. People do this all the time. Well, women do." She shook her head at him, but ultimately walked back to watch Aria's room._

"Nope, we just got to chatting." Wren fibbed and his eyes flitted on her face. "Seems like a nice fella."

"He is." Aria agreed and offered a smile.

"So, I take it you've known each other for a while?" He fished, wanting to know how intimate she and Ezra were.

"To an extent. He's a single dad who also needs to work which leaves the baby to me during the day." She informed him, seeing him arch his eyebrows in clear shock then he furrowed his brow, keeping his eyes on her. "What?" She asked as the look on his face slowly formed into something more serious that she could only interpret as jealousy. "Wren…" She said in a warning tone. "You don't have to worry about anything. He's—"

"That wasn't what I had in mind." He jumped in.

"You think I'm gonna develop something for him?" She guessed.

"You said it yourself, he's a stable working single father taking care of his own child. That's a tough competition for any guys." Wren moved his mouth to the side as Aria scoffed in disbelief.

"What competition?" She shook her head at him and moved closer, giving him a kiss on the lips. Their first kiss. Unplanned and genuine. Pulling away, Aria smiled at him as he smiled back with hesitance.

_They met in the cafeteria while he got a cup of coffee and Spencer looked for a small snack._

_"Hey, doc." Spencer slid next to him in line with a tight smile._

_Turning to face her, Wren nodded politely. Their friendship grew from two mutual friends so closeness wasn't exactly the same with how it was with Aria and Ezra._

_"Hello, Spencer." He swiped his card at the register and Spencer stepped forward, but Wren swiped again, paying for her item._

_"Thanks."_

_"No problem." He looked at her. "How's Aria?"_

_Spencer smiled at his concern. "Overjoyed, relieved, sleeping." She went on. "Everything went well as expected." She added. "Come stop by her room and say hi to baby Daisy." She saw Wren raised his eyebrows at the sound of the baby's name. "Once you see her, it's like going back in time and seeing Aria as a baby."_

_Swallowing hard, Wren feigned a smile. "I wish I could…but I'm a bit swamped with my patients today."_

_"Ah, well, that's too bad." She commented although not understanding how he couldn't spare a few minutes of his time to welcome his friends' newborn when he was down here getting himself a cup of coffee._

_Brushing his hand over his forehead, Wren forced a smile. "I gotta head off. I'll see you guys some other time." He said as Spencer gave a quiet goodbye through a small nod, watching him trail off to his floor._

He placed the plate of food on the table as Daisy played with her food, babbling at it. Ezra paused and looked at her, taken by surprise at the sounds she was making. Daisy continued on and made some 'da' sounds in long series while nonchalantly smacking her food with her palms.

Ezra watched on, not wanting to make a big deal out of this seeing as she was just babbling aimlessly, but he couldn't help but think that she was trying to call him. Snapping out of it, Ezra approached her high chair to clean the table and her face.

Tapping the bar stool beside her, Spencer beckoned for her and maybe to talk for a bit, but Aria was disinclined, fearing of getting caught by one of her fellow workers. It was a busy, full house and they needed to move quickly instead of chatting up with people especially if they were just their friends.

"Can we do this later?" Aria said as she walked over to Spencer and the bar.

"Wait before you go…" Spencer lightly grabbed her wrist and handed her a silver bracelet that said 'Daisy' in elegant engraving.

Aria's face lit up at the sight. "Spencer, this is stunning."

"Yeah." Her eyes flitted for a moment. "I was shopping, caught a glimpse of it, and thought why not?" Spencer smiled with a shrug as Aria closed her hand, securing the bracelet inside.

"I'll give it to Ezra tomorrow morning."

"Good." Spencer spun in her chair, grabbed her drink, and finished it off. "I'll see you when I see you?" She finally said and stood up.

"Yep, take care." Aria took her eyes off of her friend and opened her hand again, admiring the bracelet.

_Zooming out on the letters, it gave a full view, revealing Daisy's name around Aria's wrist. They continued to open a heap of gifts their friends had given them for the baby shower and for Daisy._

_"Thank you." Aria moved across and gave Spencer a hug for giving her the bracelet._

_Ezra continued to film everything while Daisy, light as a feather, remained asleep in his arm and chest. It wasn't as bad as he thought, multitasking things with Daisy around. But he knew he shouldn't be thinking this since it had been only two days. This was merely the tip of the iceberg when it came to parenting._

_"Me next, me next." He chimed in, imitating a small boy._

_Spencer scanned the gifts. "Which one is yours?"_

_"The badly wrapped one." Aria pointed out._

_"I'd say something but this is on record and I wouln't want my daughter hearing me say it ten years from now." Ezra remarked._

_"Oh, found it. You weren't kidding." Spencer grabbed the present with visible tapes in every corner of the box. She handed it to Aria as Ezra flared his nostrils at them._

_Aria glanced up at Ezra and wiggled her eyebrows as she unwrapped the gift. It took her a while to realize that each time she opened the box, it would lead to a smaller box and so on until it was the size of her palm. Her heart began to skip at the thought that he would propose this way. Nervously, she glanced up at Ezra who filmed every second and then at Spencer who gave her looks, thinking the same thought._

_Opening the box, Aria saw a pair of gorgeous earrings with daisy flowers on the center. A swing and a miss. Reluctantly, Aria lifted her eyes at him and forced a smile._

_"I thought this was a baby shower, not my birthday." She jested, concealing her false excitement._

_"Do you like it?" He asked, keeping the camera on her face._

_"Of course I do." She answered and kept quiet as she took the earrings out of the box and replaced the ones she was wearing with them to prove it._

_Bending down, Ezra came close to her face and gave her a soft kiss. As she pulled away, Aria smiled tightly and brushed his cheek._

_Spencer quickly retrieved another present to avoid any silence between them. "Okay, next!" She gleefully squealed, handing Aria the present while giving her a tacit look as if to comfort her._

It didn't seem like such a big deal for her to bring it up with Ezra, but Aria voluntarily left the apartment with Daisy to walk around the neighborhood and sometimes, to visit the closest park. Fresh air always did them good and Daisy didn't complain.

As she strolled around the streets, a woman jogging in their direction stopped to a halt in front of them.

"Daisy!" She squealed out at the baby who remained in her stroller. In a bit of a shock, Aria examined the woman; her hair in a neat ponytail, tight spandex leggings and the friendliest smile she had ever witnessed.

"Daisy, you never told me you were a social butterfly." Aria joked causing the jogger to laugh.

"Sorry, hi! I didn't mean to jump on you like that." Emily said as she straightened herself up. "You must be the wife." She extended her hand.

Drawing her head back, Aria quickly shook her head, but accepted the handshake. "No, no, I'm—" She quickly began to say as Emily recoiled, embarrassed yet completely and utterly puzzled.

"My mistake." Emily apologized. "The aunt?" She guessed with squinted eyes.

Letting out a small chuckle, she shook her head again. "No, nope no relations whatsoever. I'm just the babysitter." She cleared her throat. "And you're Ezra's friend?" She asked.

Emily slowly nodded but she couldn't stop staring at Aria's face, noticing her big hazel eyes. It wasn't something she could easily dismiss or forget. Emily had fallen in love with Daisy's eyes when she first saw them, and this woman before her had the exact same ones.

"Well, give Ezra a hi from Emily." Emily finally said. "Oh, if it's not too much trouble, can you tell him to stop by my street? Tell him I'm ready to take that offer." She informed her as Aria nodded politely. Emily bent over to Daisy. "Lovely seeing you, sweetie." She said and smiled back at Aria before continuing on with her jogging.

Furrowing her brow, Aria turned her head back to watch Emily.

_She grabbed the camera and began to film as she quietly approached them. It was hard to wrap her head around the moments and still, she was blown away by how time quickly flew. Daisy was already one and a half month old yet Aria could recall giving birth to her like it was yesterday._

_"Here we have papa bear." She narrated in a fake British accent, whispering her words as she zoomed in on Ezra who had Daisy on his chest, both asleep. "And his little cub. Notice how the papa bear securely rests his paw around—"_

_"Careful, Steve Irwin." Ezra whispered back, keeping his eyes closed._

_"Steve Irwin was Australian."_

_"You weren't doing an Australian accent?" He poked fun and finally opened his eyes to peer at her._

_Rolling her eyes, Aria turned off the camera and sat beside them. "Let's go out." She whispered in his ear before kissing around it._

_"Okay, let me just put this cub back in her crib before we sneak off." He jested as Aria laughed in a hushed manner._

_Daisy remained in her small carriage seat beside Aria. For a newborn, Aria and Ezra were both grateful she wasn't finicky like most babies. She didn't cry when being put down, but she was bizarrely quiet and calm about it. The parents both wondered if it was just her personality or something was chemically wrong. Every little thing worried them even when it was nothing._

_Reading her text message, Aria shook her head and chuckled to herself._

_"What's up?" Ezra interrupted, noticing her face._

_"Oh—" Aria clicked her phone off. "It's nothing. Spencer just sent me a text. She's off to London."_

_"Already?"_

_"The job kinda comes with the package." She shrugged._

_Spencer and Aria attended the same college, taking up journalism but unlike Aria, Spencer veered toward a more free form kind of journalism. She wrote for traveling agencies and even had her own website that talked about the places she had ever been to, discussing with her readers the pros and cons about certain countries. It had good benefits, it fed on her wanderlust of a personality, and Spencer, single and unattached, did not have a lot weight on her shoulders when it came to relationships._

_"Ever wonder how many beaus she has all over the globe?" He brought up._

_Laughing softly, Aria shook her head. "Two in Paris, one in Tokyo, and a slightly serious one in Dublin." She said dryly. "And basing on her current text, she's spending the weekends with an English fella who apparently works for the parliament, like some big government rat—" She let out a snorting laugh. "That'd be beneficial if she actually works for politics." She added._

_"She's dating someone from the British Secret Service?" He asked in a surprised tone._

_"No…" Aria giggled. "They're not dating." She winked._

_Eyebrows raised and mouth agape, Ezra stared at her. "Well, wouldn't you kill for that kind of lifestyle…" He commented._

_"No." She immediately shook her head at him. "I wouldn't trade this—" She rocked Daisy's seat. "For anything."_

_"Not even for an English man?" He joked._

_"I have Wren for that." She played along with an impish smile._


	9. Chapter 9

_**"caligirl28: ****Now I'm super confused. I could follow before but then after Aria gave birth to Daisy, I got lost."**  
**- it was just a dream.**  
**"handswithroses: How did Spencer get the bracelet back? Or is it just another one?"**  
**- I can't tell you that yet.**_

**Again, thank you for the lovely reviews and for your patience! - Queen**

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_"Last time your mother gave me a surprise, we ended up having you." Ezra said to Daisy who was dangling snugly in front of him in a sling. They walked along the sidewalk and reached the little shop._

_Ezra skimmed inside, seeing bright and golden colors every where. Rings, jewelries, and a woman's dream right in front of his eyes._

_"Alright, do you have any ideas what a proper engagement ring is supposed to look like because I am completely clueless." He asked Daisy, bowing his head down close to her face._

He shuffled the photos and brought one up in front of her once again. "Say mommy. Just once please, just say it." He begged and Daisy reached for the photo, but Ezra pulled back because he had learned that she liked to crinkle up things.

Ezra did not give up because he knew she could after hearing her say 'dada'. Learning to say another simple word couldn't have been that much of a challenge for her either.

"Mommy." He repeated as Daisy opened her mouth in attempts to imitate him.

_"Sorry, can you hold on for a sec—" Aria said over the phone as Daisy continued to cry in her arms. Aria approached the windows and took a peek outside seeing a bunch of construction men cutting the trees on their sidewalk. She didn't understand why they needed to get rid of them. They added character to all of the surrounding buildings._

_Shaking her head, Aria gritted her teeth at the loud buzzing noise coming from below; the culprit for Daisy's outburst. Aria groaned and moved away, heading off to the bedroom. "No, yeah, I'm still here." She said as she closed the door._

_"So, next week?"_

_Aria pressed the phone closer to her ear. "That's the plan." She said with a smile._

_"Are you certain I can't come any earlier?"_

_Aria smiled to herself as she did a little dance, gradually easing off Daisy's cry. "I wish, but his only day off is next week." She informed and heard a small beep indicating another call coming in. "Speak of the devil, that must be him on the other line." Aria said. "Call you soon?"_

_"Tell him I said hi."_

_"I will." Aria nodded and faced her daughter. "Wanna say bye-bye to your nana?" She asked and smiled. "Daisy says bye too, Mom."_

Seeing another missed call from his friend, Wren exhaled slowly and shut his phone off. He looked outside and saw her walking out of the building. Inserting the key in the ignition, Wren began to drive in her direction before slowly pulling over beside her.

"Hello there stranger!" He shouted at Aria as she continued to walk obliviously.

Turning to face him, Aria stopped in her track and smiled. "What are you doing here?" She asked as she walked closer to his car.

"Need a ride?"

"Don't you have work?"

"Don't you want a ride?" He repeated with a crooked smile and watched Aria slowly shaking her head playfully before getting in. "That easy, huh?" He added.

"Excuse me?" She squinted at him.

"Getting into someone's car. There wasn't much hesitation there, yeah?" He grinned.

"Well then maybe I should just get out." She remarked, reaching for the door.

Wren swiftly grabbed her arm, pulling her back. "A little too late for that." He said before pulling her closer for a kiss.

_Ezra put the keys in the bowl near the door and took off his shoes. "Aria?" He called out and walked to the hallway leading to the living room._

_"Hey, you're home." Aria greeted behind him, coming from the kitchen._

_Ezra turned around and watched her amble her way to him with Daisy still in her arms._

_"Hi baby." He said with a smile and Aria slightly puckered her lips for a kiss before realizing he was talking to Daisy. Ezra leaned down and planted kisses on Daisy's forehead then down to her cheeks while she faintly squealed at him with excitement._

_"Ass." Aria retorted as Ezra laughed and finally stood upright._

_Looking at her, Ezra licked his lips. "Hi." He greeted and kissed her tenderly, gently squeezing Daisy between them. Ezra held the side of her face and continued to kiss her, gradually getting eager by the seconds._

_"Ez—" Aria said in their kiss and tried to pull back._

_"Hmm, no, no—" He replied and shook his head, his hand cupped the back of her head and planted a series of pecks on her lips. He could feel Daisy's hands slightly gripping on his shirt as she cooed now._

_"Ezra—" Aria repeated and finally pulled away. "We have a guest." She whispered to him and moved to the side, jutting her head toward the living room._

_Ezra furrowed his brow and turned around to see a face that he saw years ago; a face that intimidated him ever since and still intimidated him just the same now._

_"Ella." He breathed out as she gave him a small smile from across the room._

They stayed inside the car, having a small banter that soon turned into an actual argument.

"I'm already parked here. Why can't I just come in…" He insisted.

"I don't want you seeing me working like a—"

Sighing deeply, Wren tilted his head at her. "I'd love to see you work. Especially in that uniform."

"Please don't." She begged.

"I'm starving!"

"Then go eat somewhere else."

Wren chuckled. "I give very generous tips." He raised his eyebrows at her and saw her mouth twitching a scowl which quickly spread out all over her face, seemingly upset at his comment. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing."

"Aria, that wasn't meant to sound condescending—" He tilted his head to the side.

"It's nothing, alright?" She took her purse and got out of the car.

"Aw, c'mon!" He shouted after her before spotting Hanna just a few cars away with a few boxes in her hands.

Before walking away from him, Aria shook her head and bent down a bit to talk through the window. After a moment of pondering, she exhaled sharply. "Forget everything I said. Do whatever pleases you." She said, her eyes fluttering at him as he studied her face.

As she walked toward the restaurant, she could hear Wren's car screeching behind her. Aria turned around only to see him driving off in his small sports car. She couldn't understand why she suddenly felt angry with herself. For months, she had felt alone and finally she had someone in her life that gave her security yet for some reasons, she was pushing him away for the most ridiculous reasons.

_As soon as Ella left for the bathroom, Ezra pulled her aside and engaged in a whispered conversation._

_"What do you expect?" Aria snapped at him._

_"The least you could have done was tell me she'd be here." He ran his hand over his face and exhaled sharply._

_"Why? So you could make up some stupid excuse just so you could weasel yourself out of it?"_

_"I would never do that." He defended. "Aria, just enough with your surprises alright? They're not—"_

_She stared him down. "They're not what?"_

_Taking his time, he decided to choose his words carefully. "It's not fair for me, okay? I deserve to know things. Things like this." He gestured at the hallway where Ella headed off._

_After a long moment of silence, Aria's shoulders slumped. "Are you angry with me?" She said, changing the tone of her voice._

_Ezra looked at her intently and slowly shook his head. "Although I should be." He muttered and watched Aria scooting closer to him._

_"The upside to this is—" She glanced back for a second then turned to him again. "She'll be watching after Daisy tomorrow which gives us the whole day to celebrate." She told him as she took his hands, holding them comfortingly._

_"Celebrate what?" He asked. The look on her face suddenly changed into something indescribable, but he could see anger spewing very quickly. Aria scoffed at him as he braced himself._

_"Please tell me you're kidding." She noticed his eyes darting back and forth. "You're completely clueless." She let out and let go of his hands. "I get shit for dropping surprises and you can't even remember our—"_

_"8th year anniversary." He cut in, tilting his head at her while she remained looking dumbfounded. "I just wanted to see you angry. Now you know how it feels." He added as she sneered at him. "Did you really think I was that excited to kiss you when I got home for no reason?"_

_"Yes, who wouldn't be?" She shot back and broke out into a smile._

Huffing to herself, Aria picked up the menus all over the floor while Hanna approached her.

"Table four sent this back. They said it wasn't what they ordered." Hanna walked to her with the tray of food. Aria groaned under her breath, cursing herself as she straightened herself up. "Something bothering you?" Hanna asked, noticing Aria's bitter mood ever since she walked in.

"Just not feeling well." Aria excused and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Why don't you just take a half day?" Hanna suggested.

"I'm fine."

Hanna stared at her. "Seriously, I don't want the boss to find out one of their employees is spreading her virus all over the food."

Aria gave her a glare. "I'm not sick."

"Well, I'm not risking anything for the sake of my boyfriend's business." She told her. "Go home, Aria. I'm not saying this as a friend." She ordered as Aria looked at her for a while before finally giving in.

He looked out the window and rocked Daisy to sleep in his arms. The bus pulled up and he saw Aria getting off. Her hand went up to her face, looking upset over something. Furrowing his brow, Ezra continued to watch her enter the building wondering why she was back so early.

Ezra checked on Daisy who was fast asleep so he walked to her crib and put her down gently.

"I will be right back, okay?" He whispered as he pulled up the small fleece blanket up only to her thighs.

_With Daisy in her arms, Ella waved and smiled warmly at Ezra, wanting him to know that she was a changed woman who had come to terms with him. They did not bring up the earlier years, the fight, and the running away. They learned to be the better people and quietly made their own truce with each other._

_"We'll be back tomorrow afternoon." Aria informed her mother as she put on her coat._

_Ezra walked up to Daisy and Ella. "See you tomorrow, bug." He bent down and kissed the top of her head. "Thank you for this." He said to Ella and she simply nodded._

_"Ezra, we're gonna be late!" Aria called out as she took the keys from the bowl._

_"Coming, coming…" He replied._

_"Take care of her." Ella added before he headed off._

Taking a few deep breaths, Ezra finally knocked on her door as he carried an unopened box of chocolate creme pie. He took a few steps back as Aria opened the door.

"Hi, I—" He flashed a smile that quickly vanished after seeing her reddened face that could only mean that she had been crying. "Hey, what's the matter?"

"Nothing." She shook her head and glanced at the item in his hands. "Can I help you?" She said solidly.

Ezra licked his lips and hesitantly handed her the platter. "I thought you'd like some." He stared at her. "Are you sure you're okay?" He said once Aria took the food from him.

With fluttering eyes, she sniffed for a second. "I'm fine. Allergies." She forced a smile.

Unconvinced, he didn't budge from his position. "You can talk to me." He said softly. "If you ever need to. I'm right here."

"I'll remember." She quickly said. "Thank you for—" She gestured at the pie. "It's very thoughtful of you."

"No problem." He put his hands inside his pockets.

"Goodnight." She twitched another smile.

_"N-no—Aria—" He twirled her. "Other way—other—" He shook his head as the music continued on. "You are hopeless."_

_She threw her head back, laughing as Ezra stayed behind her, leading the dance. "Shut up." She retorted._

_"You have two left feet." He whispered to her as the people around them danced in pairs with ease._

_Her head was shifted a bit to get close enough to him so he could hear her. "Yeah and one of them is about to go up your—"_

_"I'll drop you—" He cut in and took steps back and forward, following the music._

_Aria stopped and turned to face him. "First of all, I haven't had dinner." She slipped her hand down his forearm and intertwined her fingers with his. "Let's go?"_

_"But the dance isn't done—"_

_"I think you've showed off enough." She grinned at him and he wiggled his eyebrows at her. "I'm sure people in this room figured out you can dance."_

_"Jealousy doesn't suit you, babe." He remarked as she pulled him aside, ready to leave the ballroom. "Why don't you head out first? I just gotta ask one of the instructors something—"_

_"Just hurry up, okay? I'm starving." She said and swiftly walked off._

_Ezra walked to the station where he left his coat. Patting for the small box, Ezra felt nothing but empty pockets._

_"Oh you idiot." He hissed at himself, forgetting the ring at home. He slapped his forehead with his fist and quickly slipped on his jacket. "Idiot, idiot…" He muttered, completely blowing the opportunity of proposing to her on the night of their anniversary. He took a deep breath, telling himself to wait another year because he wanted it to be truly memorable and the only way he could do that is to propose to her on a memorable day. How memorable could anniversaries get?_

Balling up his fists, Ezra paced back and forth in his living room. The feeling of failure ate him up and her crestfallen face didn't leave his mind. He rarely saw her that way and the thought of leaving her in her own apartment in a vulnerable state agitated him.

His head turned to the door as faint knocking continued. Ezra quickly dashed for it. His chest lightened up as Aria smiled before him.

"I—" She cleared her throat and brought her hand in front of her. "I remember—"

Ezra's mouth slowly opened watched her reach for her pocket. He saw the silver bracelet causing him to smile. "Oh, this is—" He licked his lips and clasped onto it.

"Spencer thought it'd be nice for the little one." She explained and forced a smile.

"Thank her for me." He gave her another smile.

"Sure." She swallowed hard and glanced at the floor.

Tilting his head, Ezra waited for her to say something. "…Are you okay?" After a moment of silence, Ezra bent his knees a little, trying to take a peek of her face.

"No." She slowly lifted her head at him and she let out a small involuntary nervous laugh. "No, I'm not." Her pressed lips moved, trying to compose herself with her forced smile.

_Laughing softly, Ezra wrapped his arm around her lower back and continued to kiss her while she kept on talking._

_"You know nothing is sinking in right now, right?" He muttered and pulled her up as her head hit the pillow._

_"Then she had the nerve to give me the stink eye and I just flipped—" Aria continued on._

_He shook his head at her and finally pulled away. "Do we need to sign you up for an anger management class?"_

_"I wasn't angry. I was pissed." She snapped and looked at him, realizing how ridiculous she sounded just then. "Why'd you stop?" She asked and pulled him closer, kissing him roughly. After a few seconds, he tore himself from her and reached for his pants on the floor, taking out his wallet._

_"We don't want another Daisy so soon, do we?" He pointed out and went back to her._

_She chuckled. "If only we could alternate turns giving birth." She said and carried her weight, rolling over and taking charge._

"This can't be it." She shook her head as Ezra listened attentively. "There's gotta be—" She swallowed hard and wiped her face. "Another version somewhere out there waiting for me. This just can't be it." She repeated. Something in the back of her head told her that this wasn't the kind of life she was meant for; being a waitress, living alone and in doubt. She couldn't accept this truth.

"Hey, hey, hey—" Ezra leaned in, cupping the sides of her face and wiping her cheeks. Tilting his head, he smiled a bit. "Aria…"

"I'm sorry." She exhaled sharply, keeping her eyes fixed on the floor. "I sound ridiculous."

"No, you don't." He said reassuringly. "Trust me, you don't." He gave a light shrug as she slowly looked up at him. Ezra leaned closer, and very gently, he tipped her chin up and gave her a soft kiss.

After letting the kiss linger, Aria finally pulled away and put his hands down. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't." She told him. "I'm seeing someone…" She added.

His head slowly drew back, eyebrows arching, and his throat lightly closing in. After a moment, he gave a quiet nod as Aria got up, getting ready to leave.

_He groaned, feeling her weight with great impact as they both hit the carpeted floor. Aria let out a laugh and pressed her lips hard against his while he pulled for the blankets. Sighing with relief, Aria stayed on top of him and read his face._

_"What?" He asked and stared at her face._

_"Just hear me out before you say anything…" Aria said and Ezra's eyebrows creased, but he nodded anyway. "Do you remember when I told you about Spencer going to London?"_

_"Hmmm…"_

_"Well, she sent us two tickets as an anniversary gift but—" She bit her lower lip._

_"But?"_

_"I kinda told Ella I'd bring her…" She revealed as he narrowed his eyes on her. "Spend two weeks there for a little mother and daughter bonding." She defended._

_"Unbelievable."_

_"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She said as quickly as possible. "I know it was meant for us but—"_

_"That's not the case!" He moved and she got off of him. Putting on his boxers shorts, he turned back to look at her. "It hasn't even been three months and you're already leaving—"_

_"It's only going to be for two weeks! I've been away much longer than that—"_

_"Do you hear yourself?" He retorted._

_"And it's not like I'm leaving Daisy. I'm bringing her with me." She added._

_He cocked an eyebrow. "The hell you are! No, she's not coming with you."_

_"What?" She scoffed, a bit puzzled._

_"She's too young to be flying."_

_"Ezra—"_

_"No." He said solidly. "No, look—" He exhaled sharply. "You and Ella can go. Fine. But you're leaving Daisy here with me." He said._

_Aria examined his eyes, seeing the unrelenting glint in them, and she knew this would be his final say._

_"Okay…" She said softly._

_"Did you do all of this—" He gestured around him. "Just to loosen me up and make me agree to this?"_

_"No!" She snapped, offended now. "How dare you! This was entirely different!" She sat on the edge of the bed and sighed. "I know it's selfish of me." She admitted and Ezra rolled his eyes before sitting next to her._

_"You're not selfish." He said._

_"Yes, I am."_

_He brushed his hand on her arm. "You're not…" He said as she lifted her eyes at him. "Look, it's—" He thought for a moment thinking of a way to explain it. "It's like—"_

_"You can't even think of a good excuse." She shook her head at him._

_"You're not selfish."_

_"Of course you would say that." She felt his hand rubbing her arm. "You're too nice."_

_"I'm not nice. I just like sex and pissing you off would take that privilege away from me." He joked and she glared at him, clearly not in the right mood. "Listen it's…it's not stealing if it's free." He finally said. "And what you want…well, they're free. You're not fighting anybody off for it." He simply and furrowed his brow at himself, wondering if that made any sense._

_"We're fighting right now, aren't we?"_

_"I have no problem with you wanting to spend time with your mother, Aria. I just wish…you—"_

_"My method of doings things… it's just not very good." She asked and saw him smiling._

_"No, not very. You gotta stop with all of these last minute decisions and surprises. I've told you this before, haven't I?"_

_"You did…a few hours ago actually." She pointed out, unintentionally making him laugh because she sounded like a child. "Who's gonna look after Daisy? You have work."_

_"You know, she does have another grandmother…" He reminded her._

_"Yeah, but—"_

_"Daisy's not coming with you, Aria." He pressed on and kissed the side of her head. "Try again in a few years."_


	10. Chapter 10

_**"thenameismg: Sorry for that rant."**  
**- don't be! I love rants, haha.**  
**"bite-me-im-irish: ****Just wondering why you chose Daisy as a name?"**  
**- it's from the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Aria and Ezra were watching it together (chapter 6).**_

**Thanks for the reviews/rants/questions. And also, here's the chapter that explains it all. ;)  
- Queen.**  


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_The Italian restaurant was quite eloquent and comprised of small round tables seating for two and there was a warm tone in the air, frankly aiming for romance. It gave the right mood for Aria and Ezra, seeing as how this was her last day with him before flying off to London._

_Aria gave small glances around her and saw other couples eating their meals quietly. She furrowed her brow and gazed at Ezra with a very contemplative look on her face._

_"Hmm?" Ezra said, acknowledging her look._

_Reaching for his hand across the table, she brushed it over and over again with her fingers. "Do me a favor?"_

_Ezra lowered his brow at her. "What is it?" He simply said._

_"Don't let us be those couple who have nothing left to talk about during dinners." She told him as her eyes slightly pointed at the people around them._

_Looking around, Ezra noticed old couples eating in silence. "I don't think they've run out of things to say." He observed and turned his eyes back at Aria._

_"You think so?"_

_"Maybe they're just comfortable with the silence." He played with her hand. "Saying nothing says a lot." He told her as he traced the back of her hand with his finger._

_"What am I saying now?" She linked her fingers with his and waited for his answer._

_Ezra leaned forward and planted a kiss on her lips, taking the words right out of her mouth._

"I'm sorry Emily, but you caught me at a terrible time." He said nasally. "I don't wanna get you sick." He explained over the phone. "Perhaps on another day?"

"It's alright. Hey, if it means anything, I do make a mean chicken noodle soup." She said with a soft timid laugh. "If you want, I could make you some—" She cleared her throat nervously.

Ezra rubbed his nose and thought for a moment. "If you're willing to risk coming here, sure." He smiled to himself. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

"Don't worry, I'm pretty much immune to everything." She jested. "I'll see you in a bit?"

"Thanks, Em." He said and quickly recoiled after hearing himself calling her by a nickname, feeling rather inappropriate.

_"Bye-bye, little flower." Aria whispered against Daisy's forehead. She pulled away for a bit and planted a few kisses on each cheek, not ready to leave yet. She murmured some loving words against Daisy's smooth skin. The way she smelled reminded Aria of how nurturing she could actually be; the faint smell of milk and baby powder all over her made everything feel innocent again._

_Ezra cleared his throat, reminding her that she had a flight to catch. "Save some kisses for me?" He interrupted and smiled as Aria straightened up._

_"Can't forget you." She said and tiptoed a bit to kiss him. After a long fervent kiss, they tore themselves apart. Ezra nudged his head, indicating her back to Ella who was waiting for her daughter. Aria sighed and reached for her luggage. She began to walk away and glanced back, seeing Ezra playing with Daisy's hand, waving it at Aria and mouthing goodbye words._

_Chuckling to herself, Aria shook her head and pouted her lips at her two most prized life possessions._

"It was a very prick thing to do, I know, and I apologize." Wren said, following her like a small stray puppy while Aria tried to concentrate on her job. After the other day, Wren made sure her blonde friend wasn't around for this.

Turning around on the balls of her heels, Aria sighed heavily. "It's fine. You didn't do anything wrong. I just—" She shrugged.

"I believed it when you said you didn't want me to be here."

"I know." She answered. "Wren, _I_ was the prick, okay? But can I explain why…after my shift?" She glanced to the side, gesturing at her customers.

"Can I drop you off later?" He asked with pleading eyes.

"Don't you want something to eat?" Aria asked.

"That's alright. I already had something on the way here."

Aria beamed at him. "Okay."

Smiling now, Wren licked his lips and gave her temple a quick kiss. "I'll see you in a little bit."

_"Are you sure we're going the right way, honey?" Ella said as they headed down the tunnel, hoping to catch the next train._

_"Yeah, Spencer said take the train to Brighton and there's—" She pointed at the sign. "Our Brighton." She smiled at her mother._

_"It's far too crowded here. I thought we went abroad to forget we were in New York." She joked._

_Aria chuckled and agreed. "Well, you know what they say, the more the merrier." She heard the train approaching. "I think that's our train." She said as they both squeezed their way through the crowd, hoping to catch the train._

_Noticing the frenzy before her, Ella began to see the crowd heading in their direction. "What is happening?"_

_Aria held onto Ella's arm and felt a sudden pang of deep confusion and fear as a group of people came running toward them, separating her from Ella._

_"Mom?" She called out after her and saw her own mother getting pushed along the flow of the crowd. When all of a sudden, Aria's hearing went out after the booming sound mushroomed the tunnel, putting her in a state of shocking distortion. She brought her hands over her ears, softly groaning at the impact while debris came flying across from her; small concrete, plaster, and broken tiles pieces flying all around the tunnel, creating a ball of dust above their heads._

_The crowd, screaming and even more hectic now, continued to run toward Aria, pushing her out of the way. Eventually the stampede pushed Aria, driving her toward the intersection of two walls, and one of the runners came crashing into her, causing the back of her head to hit hard against the sharp wall corner._

_"I'm sorry, lass! You alright? Are you alright?" The young man said in a panicked voice as he tried to help her up by placing his hand behind her head and torso. "Oh fuck—" He breathed out as he pulled his hand back, glancing at the blood. He frantically wiped off her blood on his shirt and saw her closed eyes, assuming she had passed out. He ran his shaking hand over his forehead and glanced around, seeing the people running away from the train. Then came another deafening explosion, startling the young man even more._

_"I'm sorry…" He swallowed hard, putting her back down. He jumped back into the crowd not bothering to take a last glance back at Aria._

"You weren't lying." He said as he carefully sipped some soup.

Emily let out a small laugh. "I can't take all the credit. My mother taught me it."

"Oh yeah? Is there some recipe written down somewhere?"

"Yes, but you can never get your hands on it."

Grinning at her, Ezra moved his head to the side. "Why not?"

"Because it is…" Emily tapped her temple. "Written in here." She then pointed at her chest, indicating her heart. "And made with this." She watched him raise his eyebrows. "Oh gosh…" She shook her head at herself, covering her face for a second in embarrassment. "Well, I think we can safely cross cliché off the list for today." She said in mid-laugh.

"Don't worry, I'm a very cliché guy too." He admitted.

"Yeah?"

He inhaled deeply. "Oh yeah. I might have some cliché snapshots of things lying here and there, maybe even a few collection of cliché videos that have captured quite a handful of very cliché moments."

"Very cliché, I get it." She nodded at him and gave him a curious and hungry look.

"You want to see them, don't you?" He said, figuring out what her face was saying.

"Well, since you offered…" She gave him a faint smile.

_She swiftly slipped on her blouse and flipped her wet hair, letting it hang the way it was. Spencer left the bathroom and went back to the bedroom, seeing London dressing himself in a hurry as well. It was easier for her to remember when she called her beaus by whatever country they originated from._

_"Leaving too?" She asked._

_"Just got a call." He looked up and jutted his chin toward the television, showing the breaking news. "Tunnel bombing at Brighton." He informed her. "Not too long ago."_

_"Brighton? Brighton that's five blocks from here?" She asked, not letting her eyes peel away from the screen. She read the scrolling subtitles on the bottom; 'currently around a hundred in critical condition and nineteen confirmed dead, possible act of terrorism - still yet to be investigated.'_

_"Yes, that's why they contacted me. My fuckin' division." He shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh._

_"Wait, wait, wait, shit—" She let out and headed for her purse, grabbing her phone. She scrolled through her text and found Aria's message. "Fuck—" She breathed out, remembering her plans with Aria._

_"What's the matter?" He asked and put his shoes on._

_"I was supposed to meet my friend there." She dialed Aria's phone and waited for her to answer her call. "C'mon, pick up." She said under her breath while London watched her with wary eyes._

_"Hey, it's Aria—"_

_"Aria! Hey—" Spencer began to say before getting cut off._

_"Sorry I missed your call. Leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible." Her voice mail beeped._

_Running her hand over her face, Spencer let out a frustrated sigh and shot London a look. "I'm coming with you."_

_"No, Spencer, I'd rather you not."_

_"I don't give a shit what you think I'd rather do!" She snapped at him. "She could be in that tunnel right now and I'm to fucking blame!" She added, her voice huskier than usual and London just looked at her a bit helplessly._

Emily watched with a smile stuck on her face. "Wow, this is a lot more cliché than I had hoped for." She commented as they continued to watch the video.

_"Mhmm, I love you, I love you, I love you—" He mumbled against her skin and kissed her neck with his pressed lips while Daisy let out a noiseless laugh._

_"What's so great about her?" Aria muttered behind the camera._

_"Don't mind Mommy. She's bitter because I've fallen in love with another girl." Ezra said to Daisy, his mouth not leaving her soft skin. Plopping back onto bed, Ezra let Daisy rest on his chest as she squirmed._

_"Ha—" Aria huffed and joined in, still focusing the camera on them. "One day, when she's old enough to realize, she's gonna forget all about you and you'll have no choice but to come crawling back to me." She said. "Isn't that right, honey?" She brushed her hand over Daisy's back._

_"I thought you hated this thing—" He grabbed the camera out of Aria's hand. "And why must you rain on my parade?" He questioned. He was aware that Daisy would grow up and inevitably take other things to her liking, but right now, he wanted to cherish this sense of innocence, and their pure genuine love._

_Gently reaching for Daisy, Aria smiled warmly and cradled her baby in her arms as Ezra sat up to film them._

Slipping on the edge of her seat, Emily quickly turned to look at Ezra. "Is that—" She uttered and looked back at the screen, seeing Aria's face.

"Hmm?" Ezra questioned without taking his eyes off of the television. One thing he did right out of all things was recording their moments; it gave him a chance to reminisce it, made it easier for him to remember what he had.

"Never mind." Emily said and furrowed her brow at herself and continued on watching.

_"Mmmm…" Ezra moved a bit, positioning himself on top of Aria. He directed the camera out of their shot so he could kiss Aria._

_"You might wanna put our daughter back in her crib first." Aria stated and then came the sound of Ezra's belt unbuckling._

"Oh—" Ezra got up from the couch and quickly fiddled with the video player, turning it off. "That's a different kind of home video…" He jested as Emily let out a small bashful laugh.

As he got back to the couch, Emily smiled at him. "So, that's her." Emily said softly and Ezra turned to face her before nodding. "She looks exactly like Daisy."

"She was very beautiful." He nodded in agreement.

"She _is_." Emily pointed out, hoping he would catch what she was trying to say.

_Spencer gently ran her fingers over Aria's broken arm, feeling the traces of what she suspected would be bruises behind the cast. It had been nearly four days since the bombing and Spencer predicted her to wake up soon. There was nothing that could amount for the guilt she was feeling for what had happened. The only thing she could hope for was for Aria to wake up now so Spencer could have the chance to say sorry, but even with the apology out of the way, it wouldn't be enough for when she had to tell her friend about the loss of her mother._

_Reaching for Aria's fingers, Spencer bit her lower lip and all of a sudden, she felt Aria's fingers curling up and gripping her hand. Spencer's eyes shot up and saw Aria's haunting big eyes staring back at her._

_"Hey." Spencer forced a smile as Aria slowly furrowed her brow at her. "How are you feeling?" She asked while Aria quietly stared on, unknowingly pushing Spencer into feeling more guilt and remorse. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I should have been there…it should have been me." She swallowed hard and felt her eyes welling up with tears. "Aria, please say something." She begged and felt her friend's hand letting go._

_With her eyebrows still lowered, Aria's mouth apprehensively formed, trying to get her words out. After a moment, she narrowed her eyes on Spencer's face._

_"Who are you?" Aria asked softly._

_"That's not funny." Spencer answered quickly. "Please, Aria, don't do that." She reached for Aria's hand, but in response, Aria quickly pulled back, frightened._

_Aria's eyes danced around the room and she began to breathe nervously at the surrounding, clearly distraught and distorted from her sleep. She looked down and pressed one of the buttons near her bedside._

_"Aria!" Spencer whispered loudly and grabbed her hand, stopping her from pressing more buttons that would call up her nurses for help. "Hey, hey—" She watched her friend panic so she moved up a bit, attempting to wrap her arms around her. "It's just me." Spencer insisted as Aria sat up and helplessly buried her face in her friend's arms. Spencer furrowed her brow and listened to Aria crying._

_The nurse came rushing in, pulling the curtains wide open and approached the women._

_"Excuse me, miss, it's probably best—" The nurse touched her back and Aria tried to pull away at the sound of someone else's voice in the room. Spencer refused and latched onto Aria._

_"No, she—" Spencer said as the nurse tried to pull her back gently._

_"I'm sorry, I don't—" Aria spoke softly. She brought her hands up and began to rub the back of her neck, feeling overwhelmed by Spencer's reaction._

_"C'mon, it's me." Spencer pressed on. "You—"_

_"Miss Hastings, we're going to need you to leave the room." The nurse slowly grabbed her by the arm but Spencer shook her off instead she stepped back and looked at Aria who seemed shaken up at everything. The nurse shot Spencer a stern look and Spencer slowly back away until she was out of the room and she could hear Aria's childlike voice asking for Ella._

_Putting her hands over her head, Spencer pressed her lips together and felt a lump in her throat forming. As if things couldn't get worse, the realization began to set in, the realization of having to tell Ezra about everything. _

"You can park here. It's initially for me but you know, I don't actually own a car…or a license." She said to him.

Wren turned the ignition off. "Yeah, about that. What if I gave you free driving lessons?" He smiled sweetly at her.

"Um, no, thank you." Aria replied and unfastened her seat belt.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm sure with your job, you'd rather spend your free time doing something else."

Tilting his head, he looked at her intently. "I like spending my free time with you." He said.

"That's thoughtful of you, but I'm fine."

"Then I guess you're just gonna have to settle with being dropped off by this fella." He pointed at himself. "Which is fine by the way, but do expect me to ask something in return…one of these days." He smiled.

"Like what?"

"Like a drink…" He slowly said. "Or an invitation back to your place. Doesn't have to be in that order." He grinned.

"Fine. Come on." She said and got out of the car, leaving him dumbfounded.

_After letting her accept the situation which took days to achieve, Aria had warm up to Spencer although there was still a strange approach whenever Spencer came close to her. They began talking about the things she could recall and so far, it was evident that Aria could only remember her childhood up to her elementary days, explaining how she remembered Ella's name and even Byron's, but not Spencer's or anybody else for that matter._

_Spencer was devastated at the idea. She couldn't help but think that perhaps if Aria had gotten hit just a few more inches away from her head, she would have remembered more - maybe even up to her freshman year of high school when they first met. Maybe even then, Aria would have remembered who Spencer was to her at all and if luck was on her side during the accident, she could have woken up with the tiniest memory of Ezra._

_"I'm not…" She fidgeted with the hospital blanket, feeling the rough fabric. "I'm not with anybody right now, am I?" Aria asked her in a low volume and timidly looked at Spencer._

_"Uhh—" Spencer pondered for a moment. "Well, wouldn't you want to be with someone?" She asked, bouncing the question back to her in order to avoid traumatizing her with new information._

_Aria swallowed hard and slightly shook her head. "No…" She admitted._

_With a forced smile, Spencer fixed her gaze on her. "Why not?"_

_"Because…I wouldn't want for someone to have this." She gestured with her hand. "To find out that someone they love can't even remember what their first name is or when their birthda—" She stopped and moved her mouth to the side, restraining herself from crying. Bringing her hand up to her face, Aria covered her eyes and felt Spencer reaching for her other hand._

_"I know what you mean." She said comfortingly while brushing her hand._

_"Nobody deserves to have that." Aria said, bringing her hand back down. She swallowed hard. "I'm not with anybody, right?" Aria repeated, bringing her eyes back to Spencer. Pressing her lips together, Spencer looked at her without saying a word, but simply smiled at her. Aria nodded and tapped her friend's hand. "Good." She whispered._

_He hummed shortly and lightly tapped Daisy's lower back, making sure she was asleep before he left the bedroom. Placing two pillows on either side, he secured Daisy on the queen sized bed while he continued to listen to Spencer over the phone. Making his way to the door, Ezra quietly left the room. "I thought you guys were never gonna call me back. Has she forgotten about us?" He joked with a wide grin. "Having too much fun there, huh?"_

_Spencer licked her lips and rubbed her temple. "Ezra, please don't freak out." She started and nervously bit her lower lip._

_"Why would I do that?" He asked and began to feel a little bit tense the longer Spencer held the silence between them. "Spencer, did something happen?"_

_"Yes." She answered and tried to compose her breathing._

_Ezra took a seat and waited for her to go on, but it seemed that she needed a little kicking for her to continue. "What's going on?"_

_She blinked a few times. "Aria and Ella got into an accident and—"_

_"Are they alright?"_

_"Aria's recovering, but Ella—" She exhaled sharply. "Ella, she umm—"_

_He leaned forward, putting his hand over his forehead. "Let me speak to Aria." He said and huffed out a deep breath._

_"I can't. I—"_

_"Spencer, let me to speak to her."_

_"Ezra, trust me, she's fine—"_

_"Then let me fucking speak to her!"_

_Recoiling at the sound of his voice, Spencer glanced up at the hospital room just several feet away from her. "Ezra, the accident took her away—"_

_"What the hell do you mean it took her away…" He snapped and grew frustrated by the seconds. "For fuck's sake, Spencer, either you give her the phone or you tell me what's going on."_

_"She can't remember anything." She said quickly. "She doesn't know who I am, she doesn't even remember you—" Her voice began to crack. "Not even Daisy."_

_"This is a fucking joke, right?" He angrily said. "If she put you up to this, I'm not into it." He breathed heavily. "I wanna talk to Aria. Give her the phone." He repeated and heard Spencer sighing from the other end of the line._

_"I'm sorry, I'm sorry—"_

_"Please just—" He buried his face in his hand. "Spencer, I just need to talk to her." He insisted, clenching his jaw._

_"Ezra, you know I would do anything for the two of you, but right now, it's best for things to stay this way." She explained. "She's traumatized and—" She shook her head._

_"Oh fuck—" He breathed out. "That's not possible. That's not possible—"_

_"Listen, we're going home as soon as she's fully recovered. I'll take care of everything." Spencer glanced up at the room again._

_"Let me talk to her." He begged once again. "Just for a moment. I just need to hear—" He exhaled sharply and wiped his eyes._

_"She's asleep." She excused after hearing Ezra's staggering breath. "Please promise me you won't do anything Aria wouldn't want you to do." She said. "For you and Daisy, okay?" She waited for his answer. "Ezra, please just do that one thing, and I promise you everything's going to be fine. I swear."_

_"Bring her back." He simply said. "Bring her back." He said before hanging up the phone._

_Spencer listened in. "Ezra?" She said and put down the phone. "Fuck…" She covered her face with her hands, letting out an exhausted sigh._

_Walking back to the bedroom, Ezra lay down right next to Daisy causing her to shuffle for a moment. Swallowing hard, Ezra glanced up at the ceiling, bringing a hand up to his face to brush the corner of his eye. He could feel everything spiraling down on him, the responsibilities for Daisy came crashing down. But nothing could compare to the weight of losing what he had with Aria. The years of what they had built up for all reducing to nothing all within seconds. The idea of her walking around with no memories of him and her own daughter was unjust and the degree of heartache was so unbearable that he would never wish it upon anybody, not even on his worst enemies._

_Feeling her squirming around, Ezra looked at Daisy and pulled her closer to him, curling up to her while gently patting her back. Daisy began to let out a soft whimpering cry, irritated and feeling disrupted from her sleep. Ezra pressed his lips against her forehead. Then he carried her up, letting her sleep on his chest._


	11. Chapter 11

**_Thank you for the reviews! And yes, there will always be flashbacks!_**

**_- Queen_**

* * *

_Wren glanced to his side and saw an empty hallway. Clearing his throat, he turned his attention back to Ezra. "I'm sorry, I-I have to get back to work—" He shut his mouth and kept his phone pressed against his ear, listening to Ezra's voice. "I'm so sorry, mate. It's…it's terrible news, it really is." He rubbed his chin and took another side glance, hoping a patient would call him or anybody to take him away from this call. He needed some time alone - a time to contemplate what this news meant for him. Wren sighed. "I have to go. I'll call you when I get off work, alright?" He said reluctantly. "It'll be okay." He swallowed hard and let his friend hang up first._

_Wren exhaled sharply and rubbed his forehead. Blinking continuously, Wren swallowed hard again and felt a wave of gross gratitude for the fresh clean slate he was given. He couldn't help but think of ways to act upon this opportunity. Was it wrong of him to even let this thought cross his mind? He would have believed so, but he also believed in the fact that everything happens for a reason._

"She should probably just stay with me until you get better." Spencer suggested as she carried Daisy, moving away from him. "You know, I've heard about this—"

"Heard about what?" Ezra asked as he threw away another used tissue.

"Immunodeficiency." Spencer said as Ezra narrowed his eyes on her. "I think you're overstressed. It lowers down your immunity, and before you know it, here you are coughing up a lung."

"And I think you're being dramatic." He told her. "I'm—" He began to say and quickly closed his mouth.

Spencer squinted at him and she could clearly see that he was trying to hold back himself from coughing in order to prove a point. "You're what? Yeah, I thought so." She examined his face. "Did something happen that you're not telling me?"

"I'm fine, Spencer. I'm not Superman. I can still catch a cold now and then." He got up from his seat and headed for the kitchen. "Just give me a couple of days and I'll be good as new."

Spencer glanced at Daisy and gave a side smile. "A couple of days?" She turned her head in his direction. "Wait, does that mean I can steal Daisy?" She asked, shouting it after him.

_"Please, Ezra, you just need to give her time." Spencer said over the phone while taking cautious glances around her._

_Spencer had decided that it would be best if she and Aria stayed in London a little longer. She hoped time would help her stabilize with every day things and fortunately, Aria had been fairly resilient with everything although the news about her parents had cause her to falter for weeks. Being an only child, it was rather unsettling to find out that she didn't have anyone else around that she could actually remember and knew without having to go through heaps of questions and answers. People always wondered how their life would have been if they were given a fresh clean slate, a new start with not a single spot remaining. Spencer realized it wasn't much of a dream, in fact, seeing Aria this way, she had concluded that it was a nightmare._

_"It's been two months. How much longer are you planning on—" Ezra questioned._

_"We're flying out next week." Spencer quickly said and turned around only to see Aria looking at her questioningly. "Can I call you back later? My roommate needs to use the line." She said and clicked her tongue for Ezra, giving her sign._

_Aria walked to her. "What do you mean we're flying out next week?" She whispered to Spencer while she hung up the phone._

_"Our visa only lasts for six months. We can't stay here…" Spencer answered. "And don't worry, I got you an apartment in New York. I'll help you get settled in. It'll be fine, it's not that much dif—" She pressed her lips together, feeling as though she had already said enough._

_"I guess I should start packing." Aria simply said with a faint smile._

_Nodding, Spencer watched her friend head off to her room. She was still not used to this new person. Her friend was unsuspicious with things, not to say that old Aria was exactly wary all the time, but Spencer always thought Aria acted gullible, but now she actually was gullible. Granted the accident had reduced her memories down to her childhood, but Spencer didn't expect her friend to retreat back into behaving like she was still living in one - a child that was purely blameless and unsophisticated without even letting a small profanity escape her mouth. Although this person looked and sounded like her best friend, Spencer loathed herself even more because if it hadn't been for her, she would still have her real best friend, the one who swore whenever she could, the one who had sarcastic remarks for everything, the one with the memories that they could indulge in together._

Aria looked around, admiring his sense of style. For someone who didn't seem fashionable, Wren had a good eye for what looked good in a home. He had a flag of his native country on the wall, a few paintings from less known painters, and he had a grand piano positioned in the corner.

"Here you go." Wren approached her with a glass of scotch.

Hesitantly looking at it, Aria shook her head. "I don't drink." She told him as he moved his head to the side.

"I promise you one glass won't hurt." He said with a smile and extended the glass closer to her. Aria bit her lip and took the glass. He watched her drink it empty and saw her wincing face. "Another?" He asked as he gestured for her glass.

"You're not trying to get me drunk, are you?" Aria asked.

"Why would I do that for?"

She shrugged. "That was gonna be my next question."

_Hanna waited in front of the apartment and saw them walking in with their bags. She was anxious and curious about her, but Aria looked just the same from afar._

_"Hey! Welcome back!" Hanna said excitedly and hugged Spencer while Aria watched sheepishly. "Hi." Hanna turned to her. "Hanna Marin." She said and extended her hand._

_"Hi—" Aria said._

_"Hanna will help you out at the restaurant." Spencer interrupted as she faced Aria._

_"Restaurant?" Aria furrowed her brow._

_"You're hired!" Hanna chimed in with a grin but Aria just looked at her apprehensively._

_Spencer glanced back and forth at the girls. "Aria, you're gonna need a job. I won't be around much, but Hanna here offered to hook you up." She pointed her head at Hanna who gave Aria another smile._

_"What do you mean you won't be around? Where are you going?" Aria asked and Hanna looked at Spencer, feeling pity for Aria because she seemed like a child all of a sudden._

_"Traveling. Not right away, but I will be." Spencer answered reassuringly. Aria looked at her long and hard, trying to take in this new independence._

_Hanna inhaled deeply and took Spencer's bags. "How about you two unpack first before we can plan everything out, hmm?" She raised her eyebrows and walked to the new apartment._

Listening to the third ring, Spencer drew in a breath and quickly sat up as soon as she heard Aria answering with what sounded like a hiccup to her.

"Hey, I've been calling. Where are you?" Spencer asked impatiently.

"I'm here…" Her voice a bit sluggish and slurred. "Umm—"

Spencer furrowed her brow. "Here where? I'm right outside your apartment. Are you gonna let me in or what?" She snapped.

"No…" She curled her legs up and watched Wren from across the room setting up his turntable and soon, the music started playing.

"What do you mean no? Aria—"

"Uh, I can't open the door right now—" She said in a singsong voice while rubbing her eyes. "Umm…" She let out a soft hiccup.

"Why do you sound like that?" Spencer asked and glanced down at the mat. A moment later, she was flipping over the mat and saw nothing but dust. "Where did you leave the key?"

Wren danced his way to her, making her laugh out loud. Aria kept her phone pressed to her ear and laughed on.

"Aria! Where the hell are you?" Spencer said as Wren continued to dance his way with a smile.

"Here, here, talk to him." Aria giggled and gave the phone to Wren, pressing it against his face.

"Who's this?" Wren whispered as Aria smiled.

"Spencer." Aria said to him and Wren quickly grabbed the phone, clicking it off. He stared at Aria and saw her laughing at his reaction. She slowly reached for the pillow, hugging it and hiding her face as she laughed in oblivion. Biting the inside of his lower lip, Wren continued to watch her, instantly regretting giving her the alcohol.

_After spending two weeks with his mother and Daisy, Ezra felt relieved to be back home. He wasn't expecting to clear his head even with the little get away and being home just made her absence more evident. But now he was required to go back to work so he left Daisy with her grandmother for a few more days after her relentless insisting._

_Ezra heard a commotion outside so he walked to his window and saw a small haul truck in front of the building. He furrowed his brow and watched on and saw Spencer carrying a few boxes. Widening his eyes, he saw Aria walking right behind Spencer with a box in her hands as well. He watched on as the truck finally drove off._

_Swiftly and without hesitance, Ezra took his phone out and dialed Spencer's number. After a couple of rings, he moved quickly and finally left his apartment._

_"Hold on, go ahead—" Spencer said as she put the box on the ground and let Aria walk after her._

_Ezra, missing Aria by a few seconds, headed for the lobby and saw Spencer taking her phone out._

_"Why didn't you tell me?" He said, making Spencer jump a bit._

_"You scared the shit out of me." She hissed and looked at him._

_"Why didn't you tell me you were coming in?" He glared at her as he stepped closer. "I wanna see her." He said._

_"Ezra, she—"_

_"Don't lie to me—"_

_"I'm not lying to you!" She retorted. "But do you really think it's a good idea for you to just come barging in and throwing yourself at her?" She explained to him. "Listen to me, you can't just go up to her telling her that she has a baby! And that some guy is—"_

_"Some guy?" He breathed out and balled up his hands into fists, frustrated at Spencer's reasoning._

_"Do you know how long it took me to convince her that I was her best friend?" She whispered to him. "For fuck's sake, she's still frightened of me. How much more with a stranger?"_

_"Aria and I…we're not strangers, Spence." He said. "We're anything but strangers."_

_Spencer tilted her head. "You're a stranger to her." She forced herself to say and they held a long, lingering silence._

_He licked his lips and stared at Spencer before surrendering and turning around to go back to his apartment. Spencer bit her lower lip and chased after him._

_"Ezra, look, I—I'm trying, I'm not stopping you from seeing her. If I was trying to do that, I would've chosen a different apartment building. I…just want you to think it over first." She said. "I know how much you want to see her. For now, this…" She gestured around her and the building. "This is the best I could do…keeping her close. All I ask is you give her time." She glanced behind her before heaving out a sigh. "She works nights at Hanna's restaurant." Spencer informed him. "I'm not telling you to go tonight. She hasn't been in a good mood lately so…just be patient, okay?" She reached for his arm, giving it a light brush. "She'll come back. I'll do whatever to make that happen."_

Wren brushed her hair away from her eyes and studied her face. He never would have imagined that she would ever be in his arms, sleeping and secured. Wren stretched his feet putting them up on the coffee table and went back to watching Aria. He noticed that in every angle, her face was equally astonishing. Everything about her seemed effortless and he took a closer look, seeing her raw skin, natural and untouched by any sort of artificial makeup. He had lost counts of the times he had meticulously admired her face, and this moment reminded him of how incandescent her beauty truly was.

Pulling her closer to him, Wren leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.

"I've never told you this, but—" He said softly. "I only make sense when I'm with you." He admitted. "Even back then, you were lovely enough not to push me away…especially when you were with him." He breathed deeply and furrowed his brow. "I owe you dearly."

The heaps of crumpled Kleenex tissues took over his bed. Ezra rubbed his nose hard, making it redder than before. Not having much opportunity to do anything in his ill state, Ezra spent his free time watching his videos, feeling more and less lonely each time he saw her face on the screen.

_"Are you getting off on this?" Aria sneered at him as she breastfed Daisy, hiding her in a small shawl to cover up herself._

_Ezra walked to her with his camera wrapped around his right hand. "Strangely enough, I am."_

_"You're disgusting." She said in a light chuckle._

_"Hey, this might be the closest thing I'll ever have in terms of having a sex tape." He jested and sat on the floor beside her legs._

_"Stop…" She glared at him as he began to give her calf a light pinch._

_Ezra moved the camera and focused it on her face then back at Daisy. He went back to her legs and traced a few kisses around her knee, working his way up. Then all of a sudden, Daisy began to cry and moved her face away from Aria's chest._

_"See what you did!" Aria whispered to him, giving him another glare as Ezra laughed before turning off the camera._

"I'm sorry…" Aria said as she fixed her hair. "This is embarrassing." She said to herself.

"What's embarrassing?" Wren asked and joined her in the couch while carrying a tray of food.

"Dozing off like a…newborn kitten."

Wren chuckled and smiled at her. "Well, I was actually smitten by it. Kittens happen to be very cute." He said with his smirk before placing the tray on the coffee table. "Don't worry, you were only out for two hours which gave me more than enough time to cook something up." He gestured at the food.

"That looks really good." She commented and Wren reached for her face, cupping one side of it.

"I wouldn't have offered you it." He said.

"Offered me what?" She furrowed her brow.

"The drink. I didn't know alcohol made you so sleepy." He informed her and she broke out into a smile.

Aria shook her head at him. "No, you just really bored me to death." She joked and Wren laughed softly in response. Smiling again, Wren licked his lips and kissed her tenderly.

_Spencer watched him take down the Hopper painting. She let him contribute with designing Aria's apartment. It seemed to be the least she could let him do and it didn't cause any harm._

_"Take this to her." He said, holding up the huge frame. "I just want her to have something of hers." He added as Spencer nodded understandingly. "Perhaps she'll remember." He added in vain._

_"Perhaps." She said, adding the tiniest hope for his sake._

_The two sat down in his living room, pondering of other things they could do for Aria. Ezra sighed while Spencer watched his fallen face._

_"I should have married her." He said in defeat. "I should have married her when I had the chance." He told Spencer as she kept herself composed and attentive._

_"Just because you didn't have your relationship written on legal paper doesn't make it any less real. You two were already kinda married. You don't need somebody else to tell you otherwise." She said in hopes to make him feel better._

_"That paper and ink and…that ring around her finger—" He said. "I could be with her right now, trying to work things out. She would have believed me at the very least." He explained. "Instead of fucking sitting around waiting for some miracle to happen!" He stood up, enraged by the situation._

_"You're not sitting around doing nothing." Spencer defended. "You're easing your way to her."_

_"Well, it's not enough." He retorted and looked back at her. "Is she working tonight?" He said changing his tone of voice._

_"…Yes." Spencer answered._

Putting on a different video, Ezra took some steps back and sat on the couch while his eyes stayed on the television screen. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if his life was going to consist of this - reruns of what he had recorded of her, going over photos of her, and while the rest of the world moved on, he wondered if he was able to do the same.

_She laid out the blanket, covering the dry grass and tiny rocks with it. Ezra waited before sitting down next to her while Daisy remained in his arm and the camera on the other._

_"I remember when this place was actually a sleeping rock." She pointed out, subtly complaining about the amount of people up here with them, noisily playing and running around, enjoying their little worlds._

_"Okay, now you're being selfish." Ezra pointed out with a smile._

_"I know I am." She said and finally took Daisy from Ezra. "At least you don't mind." She said to her baby as she pressed her lips against Daisy's forehead._

_He placed the camera next to his head and let it continue recording. "Remember, you have to live with other people too." He lay on his back, putting both of his clasped hands behind his head._

_"Well, isn't that a fuc—" Aria stopped herself, remembering her child before her. "…Freakin' disaster." She said carefully and Daisy slightly wriggled in her arms._

_Intrigued enough, Ezra looked up at her. "Disaster? What is? Living with other people?" He let out a faint chuckle._

_"No…" She slowly said. "Just—" She drew a long breath as she hugged Daisy tighter, inhaling her sweet scent. "People are selfish yet they want to be selfish with each other." She explained to him with a shrug. "How the hell is that supposed to work?"_

_"You tell me, you've been doing it right so far." He remarked and Aria glared down at him. "I do mean that in the nicest way possible." He added._

_"Right." She snapped and rolled her eyes at him._

He pushed the plates away from the edge of the table and sat back down with her. Smiling, Wren watched Aria curling up her legs as she fixed her eyes on him.

"Why are you looking at me funny?" He questioned and lightly placed his hand on top of her thigh.

"Am I?" Aria's lips formed into a smile.

Wren squinted at her and let his hand crawl up. "Yes, you are." He said before leaning in closer for a kiss. Reciprocating, Aria grabbed both sides of his face and she could feel his kisses getting eager by the second.

Cupping the back of her head, Wren felt the slight bump behind all of her hair and knew it was from the accident. He let his finger lightly touch the faint scar as she slowly pulled away and gave him a look. "What's the matter?" Wren asked with a tilted head.

"Umm—" She carefully grabbed his hands, pulling them away. She then tucked her hair behind her ear and forced a smile. "It's probably…not the best time for me right now. I'm sorry, it's just—"

Wren, without protest, moved a few inches away from her and nodded. "We don't have to do anything you don't want to do." He told her softly.

Aria looked at him for a while without saying a thing. Finally, she tilted her head and licked her lips. "Are all men like you?" She asked and hid a smile.

Pursing his lips to the side, he began to shake his head. "I do admit I'm quite ideal." He joked with a smirk which gradually disappeared away from his face. "But there are some who are better." He admitted, nodding to himself.

"Than you?" She added and arched her eyebrows.

"Especially me." He said with his kind eyes gazing right through her.


	12. Chapter 12

**_Thank you thank you for the reviews. - Queen_**

* * *

_"What view?" She stifled her laughter while they remained seated between the sliding door and the newly christened balcony._

_Ezra pulled the blanket, causing her to squirm closer to him for warmth. "The trees and the lake and—" He listed while pointing his hand in front of him, implicating the things outside the balcony._

_"And the dumpster below?" Aria commented and saw Ezra sighing in defeat. _

_Knocking her knee against his, Aria smiled widely. "I love it. I really do." She licked her lips while her hand reached for the back of his head, letting her fingers play with a few strands of his hair. "You know what else I love?"_

_"Hmm." He breathed deeply and looked down at her._

_"You." She leaned down and gave his arm a kiss. "I really, really—" Her lips traveled up until she reached his chin. "Do quite love you." She smiled and finally found his lips._

_"Hmm, oxytocin." Ezra muttered against her mouth and he pulled on the blanket even more, wrapping their naked bodies completely._

_"What?" Aria chuckled and pulled back looking at him._

_"The love hormone." He explained coolly._

_Aria cocked her eyebrow and shook her head at him. "You are such a dork." She said and kissed him again._

"No." He said once again. "I promise you I'm alright." He insisted although clear signs of his state proved that his fever was not going away and if he continued to act this way, it would get worse.

Aria slowly inhaled deeply. She didn't like to argue; as much as possible, she tried to keep her emotions to a certain level, a place somewhere in between. But if she were to get her way with him, she needed to do a little pushing.

"I know someone who can check up on you." She told him.

"You don't have to worry about me." He said and forced a smile and Aria could see how much effort he was putting into it.

"Fine, if you won't let me worry about you then for Daisy." She replied and saw his face changing all of a sudden. "For her sake." She added and Ezra held eyes with her.

A flicker. That was all he needed - just a flicker of hope that she was still her. The Aria he knew, the person who did everything for the sake of others, the self-claimed selfish girl who didn't realize soon enough that she was not selfish at all.

_"Are you sure about this?" Spencer asked and watched him grab his ivy cap._

_Ezra glanced back at her before going back to his table to grab his coat and keys. "I need to see her." He stated._

_"I know you do." She simply said. Getting up from the couch, Spencer walked to Daisy who remained in her bouncy walker. She picked up the baby and turned her attention back to Ezra. "Take it easy, okay?" Spencer reminded him. "I mean…on her."_

_"Spencer." He responded with a snap._

_"I'm just saying—"_

_"I'm aware." He put on his coat and his ivy cap. "Take it easy too." He said. "On her." He jutted his chin toward Daisy._

_"Ha, you should be talking to her, not me."_

_Ezra smiled and shook his head before leaving the apartment, getting ready to make his second first impression on Aria._

"Sorry, I just—" He exhaled sharply. "Things are a bit messy. I haven't had the time—" He tried his best not to sound nasal.

"Dude, it's alright." Hardy interrupted, gesturing with his hand. "It's not a big deal. Forget about the shooting range. We'll do that some other time, but right now stopping by was the first obligation." He smiled as he sat down with a bottle of beer gripped around his hand.

"How's Helena? And the firm?" Ezra asked and sat across from him.

"We're doing well, everything's fun, we're cruising smoothly. The love of my life, what can I say?" He expressed enthusiastically, almost theatrically. "And…Helena's…you know, same old grump—" He joked in a monotonous voice.

"I don't understand how she can stand you. Her tolerance is admirable." Ezra jested back. Helena had always been the slightly serious and sentimental one, and Hardy, much like Aria, was appropriately amusing and wry although at times, the roles would switch.

"Not so much these days." Hardy argued and Ezra gave him a questioning look. "She's pregnant. Three months now actually." He revealed and took a long, stalling sip, awaiting his friend's reaction.

Ezra drew his head back, surprised and a little bit upset that Hardy told him just now when he could have known this three months ago. "I didn't know that…" He said, seemingly loss for words. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

Hardy looked at him for a moment. "It didn't seem like a good time." He admitted. "With you and Aria…" He explained and saw Ezra nod his head understandingly.

"I spoiled it for you, didn't I?" Ezra said.

"No…maybe for Helena. She was really excited to tell you guys."

"Tell her I'm sorry and congratulations."

"Not your fault." Hardy reassured and before he could begin his next sentence, someone had knocked on the door with a sense of eagerness from the sound of it. "I'll get it." Hardy said as he handed the beer bottle to Ezra.

"Hello—" Wren greeted and stole a quick glance over Hardy's shoulder. "Is Ezra in?"

Nodding, Hardy stepped aside for Wren. "Join the party." He muttered as he closed the door. Identical to Spencer, the two men only knew each other through Aria and Ezra and didn't speak much on their own time.

_He walked into the restaurant which was not as crowded as he expected it to be. His eyes scanned the space and spotted her, just across the room, talking to one of the customers in one of the booths. A moment later, he headed for the bar._

_"A glass of scotch. Thanks." He told the bartender as his wary eyes followed Aria. Without a doubt, Ezra saw through her. How nervous she was, but she was good in pretending otherwise. The way she moved from booth to booth, carrying menus and jotting down their orders, so quickly and almost fumbling, Ezra knew she was panicking internally, but somehow she managed to hide it through her smiles._

_After finishing off his drink, he turned around and lost sight of Aria. Finally, he walked to the main restaurant, going straight for one of the empty tables._

_"Excuse me—" Her voice faintly reflected behind him and Ezra could feel a warm hand on his forearm, stopping him from going any further into the restaurant. "How many?" Aria asked as he turned around._

_Ezra blinked rapidly then he stared on quietly at her face. Out of nowhere, he had this sense of hope that she would remember his face as soon as she laid his eyes on him. He thought maybe if they looked at each other long enough, something would trigger her back, but Aria shyly pulled her hand away and looked at him questioningly, snapping him out of his own fantasy._

_"What?" He breathed out. "I'm sorry, what?"_

_"How many people—" She watched him take off his cap. "For your table?"_

_"Oh, just—" He cleared his throat. "Just me." He said as she flashed a quick smile._

_"Okay, come on over here…" She said softly as she led the way. Then she glanced back at him. "I'm Aria, by the way. I'll be your server for tonight." She offered a friendly smile; a smile that broke him in every way, pained all of his limbs and caused the little soft hairs on his arms to stand up, all of his feelings going in all directions without any aim or purpose, as her oblivious smile shot through him in the strangest most familiar way a smile could ever affect a man._

"Where's your little girl?" Hardy asked.

Wren gave a side glance as he gave the cup one last stir. "Here you go." He handed Ezra the cup of tea.

"Out with Aria." Ezra answered before sitting up to take a sip of his drink.

"Aria?" Hardy said in disbelief. "I thought—"

"Babysitting, yes?" Wren jumped in. Hardy turned his head and looked at Wren then quickly back to Ezra, giving him a pondering look. Ezra simply gave him a nod in return.

She pulled the stroller closer to her then she took a seat on the stony ledge, letting her feet dangle. Rocking the stroller back and forth, Aria glanced back at Daisy and gave her a smile.

"Well, this is odd…" Emily said from behind, her breathing heavy from her daily running. Aria quickly faced her and let out a soft chuckle. "May I?" Emily gestured at the spot next to her.

"Yeah, sure." Aria moved the stroller to her side, letting Emily walk around it.

"Hi there, little one." Emily cooed as she moved her head closer to the stroller and Daisy. "You guys come here often?" She asked as she sat down next to Aria.

"No." Aria answered. "Ezra suggested I come here. Daisy seems to like it." She shrugged lightly. "Why? Do you?"

"This place has the best fresh air." Emily pointed out, half-jokingly.

"You run a lot." Aria stated and quickly felt a bit embarrassed by her obvious comment. "I mean, I always see you—we always—"

"I know why you think that way." Emily nodded and chuckled. "Personal trainer." She gestured at herself. "I have to stay in shape so I don't feel like a hypocrite when I'm making one of my clients do a five mile run." She joked.

"Oh." Aria tipped her head back a bit.

"But sooner or later, the day will come where I bump into you in formal clothing instead of spandex and sweat." Emily jested again, making Aria laugh for a second. "How is Ezra, by the way?"

"Still sick."

"Oh no…" Emily's eyebrows creased with sympathy. "You think it'll be okay with him if I stop by?" She asked.

Aria studied her face for a moment then shrugged again. "If you'd like." She forced a smile.

After spending almost an hour catching up with each other, Ezra's temperature hiked up and all he wanted now was to be alone.

"Shit, I almost forgot." Hardy said before putting on his coat. "Helena got you something. For Daisy actually. I left it in the car."

"Just give it to me some other time." Ezra said as he lay on the couch, not really wanting to make any more movements.

"No, Helena will kill me. She's been meaning to give it to you ever since your baby shower, but I keep for—" Hardy made a guilty face. "Not important. I'll be right back, alright?" He rushed off without letting Ezra get a say in it.

As Hardy walked to the parking lot, he caught a glimpse of Aria near the sidewalk pushing the stroller in front of her. Carefully, Hardy approached his vehicle while maintaining his focus on Aria. It had been a while since he last saw her and he wanted to see for himself how she was holding up. Moments later, a small sports car pulled up to her side and Hardy noticed her smiling and talking to the driver. With his eyes still fixed on Aria, Hardy began to walk around the vehicle and opened the trunk to get the gift. Squinting now, Hardy saw what he could only assume to be Wren getting out of the car and moving around to meet with Aria and soon the two met for a kiss, a kiss that was not between two friends, but between two lovers.

"Tonight's reservation. You'll like it." Wren informed her as he walked back around to the driver's side. "I'll just change into something decent and I'll pick you up in an hour?" He smiled crookedly.

"Can't wait." She replied with a wide grin before waving goodbye at him.

Hardy shut the trunk harder than usual and began to approach Aria while the wrapped gift remained in his hands.

"Aria?" Hardy called out behind her and she stopped immediately at the sound of her name. He noticed her eyes questioningly bobbing up and down on him. "Sorry, you're Aria, right?" He recoiled and she nodded slowly. "I'm Hardy—" He took a step forward. "We were just talking about you and Daisy."

"Umm…" She let out apprehensively, her right eyebrow cocking up.

"Oh no, I'm a close friend of Ezra's. I actually just came from a visit." Hardy gestured at the building behind them. "And look, umm…" He glanced down at the gift. "Could you give this to him? I'm a bit in a rush and I can't afford to go back up there again, so." He swallowed hard and waited for her to take the gift.

But in truth, it wasn't about time limitation, but the responsibility he now held. Especially with Ezra's current bodily state, Hardy would hate to get involved between him and Aria. After all, he didn't know enough about his friend's agreement with Aria which he did not even know existed after Wren had mentioned about the babysitting, and bringing up something he had just seen a few minutes ago between Wren and Aria would surely stir some drama. _That_ was the last thing he wanted. But what kind of a friend would he be if he were to just let this go? Hardy wouldn't involve Ezra and Aria just yet, but he was willing enough to involve himself and Wren.

After a moment of contemplation, Aria nodded and took the gift. "Sure."

"Umm-" He cleared his throat. "Ezra's not feeling too good right now so would it be okay to ask, as his friend, if you could just stay with him for a while?" Hardy pleaded as he started to rub his forehead. "I would do it myself, but my wife-"

"Of course." Aria cut in. "Thank you."

"Have a good night." Hardy tipped his head forward curtly and trailed off to his car.

She carried a sleeping Daisy in her arms and pushed the stroller to the side, leaving it at the end of the hallway. Walking into the living room, Aria saw Ezra sleeping on the couch, fully bundled up in blankets. The apartment never felt so quiet and gloomy.

Aria headed for the bedroom so she could finally put Daisy back on her crib. After a while, as she got Daisy all taken care of, Aria went to the dresser, grabbed a washcloth, and ambled her way to the bathroom to soak the cloth in cold water.

Approaching Ezra, she carefully knelt down before him and brushed her hand over his covered arm.

"Ezra?" Aria said in a low volume in hopes of slowly waking him up. "How are you feeling?" She asked as Ezra gently pushed the blankets off of him.

"Where's Daisy?" He inquired with his eyes slightly open.

Aria let out a tiny smile, adoring the fact that his first thought was of his own daughter. "Sleeping in the bedroom. Do you wanna move there?"

Ezra pulled up the blankets, unable to stand the cool air in the room. "Move where..." He trailed off with his groggy voice, trying his best to stay awake just for this conversation, but his head was aching and his heavy eyes had made it a challenge.

Aria licked her lips and proceeded to bring the blankets closer to him. Very gently, she placed the cold washcloth on his forehead. "Better?" She asked although not really expecting any more answers from him and that if he were to answer, she couldn't expect any real ones seeing as he could barely make sense of where he was now. Aria gave him one final look before straightening her knees back up.

"Aria..." Ezra said as his hand managed to catch a couple of her fingers.

"Hmm?" Aria knelt back down again and felt his hand wrapping around hers, allowing her to feel the extreme heat that was exuding from his clammy palm.

With eyes opened, his grip around her hand tightened. "I miss you." He breathed out.

Aria pressed her lips together and forced a smile, almost pitiful in a way. She moved forward and nodded at him, letting him live his short-term delusion.

"I miss you too." She said, playing along. A moment later, she studied his long quiet stare.

"I should have said it more." He whispered and brought himself back to the times where she had said she loved him and he would answer back with a witty joke thus missing the chances of declaring he loved her back, the opportunities to show that he loved her just as much, and most of the times, he had missed the moments of proving that he loved her more. "Please, just-" He swallowed hard. "Just come back. That's all I ask of you." He admitted and squeezed her hand.

"Hey..." Aria replied as she gave his cheek a light caressing stroke. Furrowing her brow, Aria forced out a chuckle. "Shhh, who said I was going anywhere?" She offered a smile and began to move up. "Look, I'm right here. See?" Gingerly, Aria joined him on the couch, letting Ezra wrap his arm around her until he got his full rest.


	13. Chapter 13

_**anon: Is your goal depressing the fuck out of everyone? Cause if it is nice job.**_  
_**- Hahahahaha, thank you?**_  
_**thenameismg: how much does Emily really know about what happened?  
- not a lot, just that she knows Aria is the mother/girlfriend, but she doesn't know about the accident.  
simplyinspire: Sosososo GOOD! I need more! Now! Seriously, I'm in the hospital and your story is all I have done this week. I need more! Go! Please! :)  
- I just read this! And now I'm uploading for you since you're in the hospital which I'm assuming you're ill or something. Feel better.**_

_**Thank you for the reviews! As cliché as it sounds, they're my fuel to this story so thank you. - Queen**_

* * *

_"Umm…" Aria pressed her lips and touched the spine of the biology book that she was required to buy for a class. It was the last book on the shelf and she contemplated buying it, but the price was a little ridiculous. She took notice of the man just a few feet away from her, watching her for a while now. "Hm." She said to herself, pursed her lips pensively before placing the book back on the shelf._

_Walking around the aisle section, Aria listened in and smiled to herself as she heard the man walking to the shelf and grabbing the book. She quickly walked to the end of the aisle, hoping to meet up with him._

_"You're welcome." She commented as the man stopped in his tracks and looked at her with wide eyes. "Are you a biology major?" She tilted her head and gestured at the biology book in his hand._

_"Med student." He said, half-fibbing. He didn't want to tell her that he flew from London and came to New York to finish off a few more classes before finally getting his doctorate degree and hopefully, attain a working visa once he got everything settled in. Having to reveal all of that to someone he had just met seemed rather too personal._

_Aria drew her head back and raised her eyebrows at the sound of his voice, the smooth and eloquent accent that escaped his mouth. "Oh." She simply said._

_"You too?"_

_"Journalism, but I'm doing a research on—" She pointed at the book._

_"Take it." He offered the book and smiled a little. "You were first."_

_"It's fine. I'm assuming you'll need it more." She smirked. "It's my last year anyway. I think I'll just slack off the rest of the semester." She joked and grinned, making him break out into a smile, finally. "Or I could just blame a foreigner for taking the last book that could've helped me with my GPA." She joked again._

_"I'm Wren." He extended his hand for her and she gladly took it. "I'm a foreigner?" He reluctantly smiled and felt her small warm hand in his._

_"Aria and yes, according to the dialect, I'm assuming so." She nodded and glanced behind him. Wren watched her beckoning with her arm and he turned around, seeing another man walking in their direction. "Hey you." She smiled sweetly as the man approached them. "This is Wren. He's a foreigner." She jested as the man wrapped his arm around her waist._

_"It's a pleasure to meet you." Wren went in for a handshake. "You are?" He questioned, noticing that the man was probably the same age as him and the way he took Aria's waist was a definite sign that they were together romantically._

_"Ezra." He gave a friendly smile as his eyes glanced down at the book. "Is that the book you need?" He asked Aria._

_Smiling, Aria looked at Wren. "He beat me to it." She told Ezra._

_Wren softly chuckled under his breath and looked back at the dear, petite girl before him, and already, he could feel his flushed cheeks reddening._

After a few unanswered knocks, Spencer huffed to herself and opened the door with her key, inviting herself in. She proceeded to walk to the living room and immediately froze up as she found the two sleeping on the couch arms to arms. Tilting her head to the side, Spencer, too curious and puzzled, did not have time to appreciate whatever was going on. Walking toward the balcony, Spencer then pulled the blinds and opened the sliding door thus allowing the sun and some fresh air enter the musty apartment.

With a shift of her position, Aria brought up her forearm and covered her face to protect her eyes from the sudden burst of light.

"Morning." Spencer finally said as she ambled her way to the couch. She took a seat across from them and waited for her friend to come around from her sleep.

"Spencer?" Aria glanced to her side and saw Ezra sleeping soundly. She gently raised his arm and unhooked it away from her. "What are you doing? How'd you get in?"

"Door was left unlocked." She gave a quick shrug. "I _thought_ you'd be here."

"The door was—" Aria raised her eyebrows at the scary thought that she and Ezra, and especially Daisy, were asleep with the door opened.

"I called you. Several times." Spencer cut in. "Do you even have your phone with you?" Spencer asked almost too parental. "Aria, I didn't give you that phone just so you—"

Aria took a deep breath and got up. "Spencer, I was sleeping. What did you expect me to do?" She explained as she picked up her bag from the floor.

"…You were sleeping. With—" Spencer cocked an eyebrow at Ezra. "Anything you wanna tell me?" She shot a sly smile.

"It's not like that, okay?" Shaking her head, Aria then sighed. "Nobody was going to look after Daisy. I couldn't exactly leave—" Aria put her phone down. "Daisy." She widened her eyes and rushed to the bedroom.

"Oh, she'll be fine!" Spencer called out dismissively, aware of the fact that baby Daisy needed very little watching when it came to sleeping. Getting up from the couch, Spencer, as fast as possible, crossed over and shook Ezra's arm. "Hey, wake up." She whispered and continued to shake him. "Ezra, wake up!" She repeated a little louder than a whisper this time and watched him as he slowly stretched his body.

Squinting, Ezra blinked rapidly and saw Spencer's face just a few inches away from him.

"Did Aria leave?" He muttered and saw Spencer pointing at the hallway that led to the bedroom.

Aria leaned forward and saw Daisy on her back, fully awake and seemingly hypnotized by the crib toys hanging above her head.

"Hi, honey…" Aria said softly and watched as Daisy raised both of her hands, trying to reach for the dangling toys. "Have you been up all this time?" She asked with a wide smile while Daisy continued to ignore her. "Why didn't you say anything? You are exactly like your dad." She pointed out.

"Is that right?" Ezra said with a smile as he leaned against the doorjamb.

Quickly turning around, Aria flashed an embarrassed smile. "You know, one day, someone's gotta take care of you both." She joked.

"You did—" He paused. "…That pretty well last night. Thank you for staying."

"How are you feeling?" She questioned.

"Good. Better." Ezra gave her a grateful smile.

Aria gave a quick nod before turning back to Daisy who finally gave her full attention to Aria by kicking up her feet and beckoning to be carried. Complying, Aria leaned in and took her out of the crib.

As she waited for the two, Spencer folded the blankets on the couch and organized the throw pillows. She moved Aria's bag, putting it on the table along with her phone. Eyeing the phone, Spencer saw twelve missed calls and three messages. Spencer took a vigilant glance at the hallway that led to the bedroom before snatching the phone.

Furrowing her brow, Spencer exhaled sharply as she saw Wren's name from one of the text messages. _'Is everything alright, love? If you can, call me back. I'm at my wits' end here.' _Spencer opened another message, reading something about a restaurant reservation and Wren's concern and pleading.

"Forgive me, she does that a lot…" Aria's voice seemed to get closer and closer so Spencer swiftly stood up and turned around. "She's a worrier." Aria added.

"Oh, good! You _did_ receive my calls." Spencer remarked as she gestured at the phone in her hand.

"See?" Aria added, implying Spencer's outburst.

"It's alright." Ezra added before looking at Spencer. "Please, let me take you girls to breakfast." He offered and gave Spencer a look, hoping she would jump in to support him.

"No. Aria and I should probably head out." Spencer quickly jumped in, surprising Ezra.

"Spencer…" Aria said to the side. "I'm sorry, Ezra, she's…" She sighed at rudeness for her friend's rejection.

"Are you sure? It's still early, we—" Ezra asked with lowered eyebrows.

"We're sure." Spencer replied and received a glare from Aria. "C'mon, we've intruded enough." She excused as she gestured for Aria.

"I'm really sorry…" Aria said to Ezra who gave her a forced smile. Carefully, Aria moved Daisy to her other arm and kissed her cheek. "Bye-bye, sweetie." She said before handing her over to her father.

As they all headed for the door, Spencer turned around as soon as Aria was out the door. She gave Ezra a sorry look and bit her lower lip.

"Just go, Spencer." Ezra whispered while holding the door open.

"Will you just trust me?" Spencer defended her motive for earlier.

"I did. Remember?" He snapped. "And this is what you gave me in return." He added implicating the loss of his girlfriend.

Spencer swallowed hard and from what she could recall, this was the only time that Ezra had placed the blame on her for everything. "I'm sorry." She let out.

"That won't bring her back." He said and cocked his head toward the door.

_Hardy inhaled deeply and watched Helena move around the kitchen, cleaning up their dinner. She was his confidant and a good one at that. After telling her about what he saw in the parking lot, he had earned a very short answer from her. 'I didn't marry a fool.'_

_"I'm gonna go for a drive, okay?" Hardy got up from his chair and ambled to Helena. "You craving for anything? I'll buy something on the way."_

_"I'm okay." She said as she felt Hardy's hand on her back._

_"I won't be long." Hardy added and kissed her forehead._

_"I love you." Helena whispered and wrapped her arms around him._

_"You know, strangely enough…" He started as he pulled back. "I think I love you back too." He smiled as Helena slapped his chest._

_"I take it back. I think I did marry a fool." She remarked with a smirk._

_"Ah, well…" Hardy tilted his head. "Won't be for long." He commented, making her smile proudly._

_Wren sighed his frustration out as he stayed inside his car. It had been a couple of hours since he last talked to Aria, and after making calls and messages, he decided that it would be best to just go ahead and visit her apartment to make sure of her safety._

_Finally, Wren took his keys out and quickly got out of the car and headed for the building. At the sound of a car horn, Wren turned around and squinted at the car so he waited for a moment, making sure the sound was not meant for him._

_The car pulled over and parked right in front of the building and soon, Hardy got out and jogged his way to Wren._

_"Hey, another visit for Ezra, huh?" Hardy began and grinned at the anxious man before him._

_Wren fidgeted with his car keys. "Uhh—" He forced out a chuckle. "Well, since you're here, I suppose I won't have to anymore." He shook his keys and pointed with his thumb over his shoulder, implying his decision to leave now._

_"Hey, no, no, no." Hardy continued. "You're the one with the medical experience. I'm just a lawyer." He said with a sardonic smirk._

_"It's alright. I'll visit some other time. Tonight's all yours." Wren repeated and Hardy took closer steps to him._

_"No, really." Hardy pressed on, his hand blocking Wren's way. "Don't let me stop you. Mate." He said solidly as he stared him down. He was a couple of inches taller than Wren so his intimidation worked and made his approach more menacing._

_Licking his lips, Wren stared back with his clenched jaw and inhaled deeply. "Listen—"_

_Hardy interrupted. "I hope you realize that I'm doing you a favor, a huge fucking favor."_

_"I'm aware but—"_

_Hardy exhaled sharply. "Leave them alone." He retorted with his piercing blue eyes that contrasted the night, making the light color pop out and prominent._

"Who the hell is the new guy?" Hanna asked as she trailed behind him.

"Replacement."

"What for?" She studied him and furrowed her brow. Her boyfriend gave her a look. "No, you can't be serious." She said after the realization set in.

"Han, this isn't for you to decide." He said solidly as the couple moved around the kitchen, setting up the restaurant.

"You can't fire her." Hanna defended although she already knew from the looks of it that her friend was already fired. "She's my_ friend._"

"And this is _my_ restaurant and I need people who will take off the load, not add more to it." He explained.

"She was just having a bad day." She threw her hands before her and exhaled sharply.

"One bad day is fine, but she's been messing up for weeks."

Hanna leaned against the counter and ran her hand over her face. "Just give her another chance." She pleaded once again.

He looked at his girlfriend's desperate face; this was one of those moments where relationships were better off left at home.

"I gave her a chance the first day I let you drag her in here without any experience." He told her. "But there are actual applicants out there who can handle this and need the job. I have nothing against Aria, you know that. She's a sweet girl, but sweet doesn't cut it." He paused to check Hanna's face. "It's just business. I'm sorry, babe." He finally said with a small shrug and proceeded to walk off to the other side of the kitchen.

"Hey, I'm sorry for last night." She said on the phone. "I had to look after a friend."

"It's okay…" Wren replied and all he could think about was Hardy's warning. "Umm, would you like to come over tonight? I could pick you up after your shift."

"I have a better idea." She said.

"You do?" Wren slightly teased.

"Since it's a Sunday and I am completely work-free. What if you come over now and I could cook us something?"

"You can cook?"

Aria scoffed. "Wow."

"I'm sorry, that wasn't what I intended to—"

"Yes, I know what you meant." Aria smiled. "I know a few tricks here and there. It won't be the usual gourmet courses as you are obviously accustomed to, but…" She joked. "So, what do you say? My place? Dinner? Say in a few of hours?"

Wren moved his lips to the side, weighing the chances and risks for a moment.

"What?" Spencer exclaimed and got up from her seat while pressing the phone to her ear. "Han!"

"Spencer! This isn't my choice, alright! Stop making me sound like I'm the bad guy." She cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, I'm just really—"

Spencer gritted her teeth, holding herself back. "You're on your way to her now?"

"Yes." Hanna said as she drove left, changing lane. "Fuck…" She groaned out.

"I'll take care of it. I'll be there in a few." Spencer said as she pressed her fingers against her forehead.

"No, Spence, this is my department. It's better if I do…" Hanna said and saw Aria's street from a distance.

"Just fill me in as soon as you can." Spencer told her and Hanna just made an affirmative sound and said her goodbye.

As the pan sizzled, Aria skimmed the cookbook once again, making sure she had the right amount of ingredients. She wasn't a cook, but for today, she thought she could pull off pretending to be one. She wondered if she was better at this, knew more about this, in cooking and in other things, in her former life. In fact, she wondered a lot about her capabilities before the accident, but that was as far as she could go; just wandering thoughts that seemed meaningless now.

Aria moved back to the dining room and checked the clock on the wall and realized she had only an hour left to prepare all of this.

"Oh not now." She muttered as she heard a knock on the door. Hastily, Aria walked back to the kitchen and turned off the stove.

She then headed for the door, shouting for a moment as the knocking grew more impatient.

"Hey—" Hanna greeted quickly. "Mind if you step outside for a bit?"

"Uh—" Aria threw her hand. "You don't wanna come in?"

"No, that's fine, I won't be long—" Hanna licked her lips nervously.

Aria glanced behind her before stepping outside the apartment. "What's the matter, Hanna?" Aria asked, examining her friend's face.

She bent down, handing a wrapped candy to Daisy. "She's too adorable." Emily commented as she watched Daisy's fingers curling around the popsicle stick handle.

Watching the woman before her, Ezra smiled to himself. "This is good." He stated, gesturing at the pastry in his hand. "This is your calling."

Emily chuckled. "More like my mother's, but sure, I'll take the credit yet once again." She jested and looked at him.

"Does she live here with you?" Ezra asked and looked around Emily's apartment.

"No. This is all mine." Emily opened her arms wide and gestured at the place. "She's in Texas."

"Oh—"

"She drops by from time to time to check in, usually after a few months or so."

"What is she doing in Texas?"

"My dad." She arched her brows as her lips curled into a sly smile.

Ezra nodded and thought it was time to change the touchy subject. "So, you run the shop all by yourself?" He followed her with his eyes as she squatted down once again.

Emily reached for the lollipop and finally unwrapped it for Daisy. "My best friend helps out. He's the upper hand actually, keeps the shop moving while I'm off doing other things." She lifted her eyes at him and offered a smile.

His eyes danced and finally skimmed the room. "I'm gonna have to run back to my apartment and grab a few supplies before we can start working on your dark room." He informed her and she nodded submissively.

"We'll all go." Emily said and reached for Daisy's stroller.

"Thanks." Wren reached over the counter, grabbing the box. His smile beamed at the cashier as he paid her. "Thanks again." He said before leaving the bakery shop.

He knew Aria would feel pressured for tonight; he also knew that she couldn't cook so as a way to contribute, he had decided to bring dessert, and come in early hoping he would catch her in the middle of her cooking. He had imagined a scenario where he would help her cook and she would feel silly, but all the while enjoying the interaction they would have, and the tension would soon die off.

Wren wanted the weight on her shoulders to disappear; he missed her entirely, the carefree Aria that he knew, the girl who didn't tense up by little things every time she had the chance to. He missed how she didn't feel any shame for showing affection with her significant other. It was true, Wren did miss her sexuality - the way she tore off the blankets off of her body and simply handed it to him with a glare or the way she didn't turn him down for dinner when she realized Ezra couldn't come instead she had thought of bringing Spencer; the fact that she was willing to substitute the situation for him made him feel worthy. He never felt inferior next to Ezra when Aria was with her, and in truth, he felt the opposite of that. Aria had made him feel loved and that was something he could never really forget regardless of how she was now or who she was now. Wren reminded himself that there was always a moment to hold onto.

Getting into his car, Wren glanced at the side view mirror before driving off.

"I'll—I'll take care of everything, Aria, I could—"

Aria raised her hand in front of her. "Honestly. It's okay, Hanna." She said and forced a smile, hoping it was enough to convince her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." She jutted her head for emphasis. "There are other jobs out there. It's not the end of the world for me." She nodded and shrugged carelessly. "I'm fine." She added.

Hanna let out a sigh of relief. "Boy, you're taking this way easier than I am." She stated, making Aria chuckle for a second. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I really did try to change his mind."

"Hey…" Aria gave a side smile and she reached for Hanna's arm. "Thank you. I really do appreciate it."

"Just give me a call if you need anything, okay?" Hanna offered as she stepped forward to hug her friend.

"Sure." Aria feigned a smile as she felt Hanna's arm tightening around her body. "Talk to you later." She said as they pulled away from each other. Aria watched her friend offer another smile, almost sorry yet thankful for avoiding a breakdown that she had expected from Aria, and soon, Hanna was off and out of the building as Aria stayed outside for a few more seconds.

She turned around and walked back inside her apartment. As reality set in, Aria leaned against the door for a moment and felt her chest already heaving up and down. Shaking her head, she began to head for the living room, feeling the need to clean out everything as a way to vent out.

Aria swallowed hard and targeted for the couch, taking the cushions out and throwing them on the floor. After removing all of the cushions from all couches, she took them one by one, fluffing them down as small dust particles began to cloud over the area.

Breathing in deeply, she moved quickly, grabbing the vacuum out of the closet. Huffing a breath, Aria bit her lip and started to vacuum, starting from the very end of the room and back, creating a pattern on the carpeted floor. She huffed again and pressed her lips, feeling her eyes welling up. The sound of the vacuum filled the room and Aria, growing more and more overwhelmed, looked at the vacuum, watching the dust filled container with the dirt spinning continuously.

She pulled the cord from the socket just a few feet away and went back to the vacuum, opening the container. Dust flew out and Aria took the container out and went to the kitchen to empty it as dust left a trail from the living room to the kitchen.

Covering her mouth, Aria shook the container with frustration and hit it against the trash bin. "C'mon…" She grumbled under her breath and a few hits later, the dust flew out and 1fell into the bin. She sniffed hard and wiped her flustered face.

Her chest tightened up and she wasn't entirely sure if it was the news that Hanna brought or the dust that surrounded her, but either way, she felt helplessly engulfed by all of it. Almost an hour ago, she was settled and content even with a few detours with her plans with Wren nevertheless, she had actually felt secure and steady. The thought of waking up without a job or a purpose for that matter, and even trying to look for one when she clearly had no idea what she was even good at was enough for her to break down.

Aria waved her hand in front of her face, shaking off the remaining trace of dust before her, and her breathing became short and staggering as she felt the sudden need to call for help, for Wren, for Spencer, and even for Ezra, for anybody that mattered enough and for the one who mattered a lot.

She sat on the floor, feeling suffocated while her wheezing went on and on as it resonated through the empty hallway.


	14. Chapter 14

_**solitudemylove: Is Emily gay in this story or bi?  
- She's straight.  
ariaezraforever: is this story inspired by The Vow film with Rachel McAdams & Channing Tatum? Cause the storylines seem quite similar.  
- I'm glad you asked. I thought of this storyline like nearly 8 months ago and I actually have not heard of The Vow until I googled it. That's why on my tumblr, I decided not to post 'For Her Sake' yet while The Vow was getting popular because I didn't want people thinking I was stealing the storyline and instead I posted 'Two Weeks' first. So yeah, :) that was purely coincidence.**_

_***** Also to clear things up, Aria's memory has been erased. It's not one of those cases where she wakes up and just remembers. She can't remember because there's literally nothing to remember. Thank you for the reviews!**_

**_- Queen_**

* * *

_"Please, please, please…" She pleaded as she sat on his lap with her lips planted lightly on his slightly parted mouth while her hands wrapped around his head._

_Ezra let out a soft chuckle. "No, no, no." He said and pulled his head back to look at her. "Two weeks…that's a long time, Aria."_

_"It won't be if you're with me." She pressed on, trying to convince him to fly abroad with her. "C'mon…" She said and moved closer again, kissing him lightly. "We'll have fun, we'll be traveling around Asia. How could you turn that down?" She whispered against his mouth as her hands travel around his sides._

_"You trying to seduce me is not gonna work. I've been trained well to withstand this kind of strategy." He said, noticing how she was acting specially coquettish with him today. She had been trying for weeks to persuade him with the idea. Aria, as Ezra could recall, tried all tactics to do so, but had failed so far._

_"What strategy?" She asked with a counterfeit innocence as she pursed her lips quizzically at him._

_"Don't play coy with me." He said. "You sashaying your little naked self around the apartment for the past couple of weeks…like it was nothing out of the ordinary?" He tipped his head at her. "You waking up early to cook me breakfast during the weekends? Weekends, Aria, weekends. You could at least try to act a little less suspicious." He cocked an eyebrow as she listened to him with a bored look on her face. "You trying to fondle me—"_

_"Alright, alright!" She cut him off, owning up to her dirty scheming. "The more you should come with me." She added, smiling this time._

_"And we're not gonna be traveling. You're gonna be working." He pointed out as a matter-of-factly. "What the hell am I gonna do there?" He reasoned and clasped his hands together around her waist._

_Aria let out a sigh and pulled away. "Maybe I'll just find myself a nice guy while I'm away…" Her eyebrows raised seductively, teasing him._

_He tilted his head at her. "Real funny."_

_Groaning, Aria kissed him sloppily and bitterly once more. "You're no fun." She muttered as she got off of him, ready to leave._

_Ezra watched her turn around and he could easily see by her unhurried strut that she was still attempting to lure him. Shaking his head and looking away from the unholy sight, Ezra chuckled proudly at himself._

Daisy's eyes stared right through her and all Emily could do was fidget with her fingers as she stayed in the living room, hearing the voices from the bedroom. She could leave, she thought, but that would have been cowardly of her. Nobody was at fault here; just people caught at a bad time.

"Where the hell were you?" Spencer threw her hands out angrily. "What the hell were you even doing with that girl?" She added, her face red from frustration.

"She's a friend. Alright?"

"A friend." Spencer repeated with a sarcastic tone in her voice.

"She's nothing, but a friend!" His voice boomed and he paused to take a breath.

Listening in to their argument from the other side of the paper thin walled room, Emily glanced down at the floor and furrowed her brow, feeling her cheeks getting hot and flustered. She bit down on her lower lip and intertwined her fingers as tightly as she could. Tilting her head to the side, Emily could hear their faint yet continuous quarreling voices.

"Well, you know who isn't just a friend? Wren! Because you weren't there for her and he fuckin—"

He furrowed his brow. "If it weren't for Wren, she could've died, Spencer."

"If it weren't for Emily, this would have never happened!"

"This isn't her fault." He said gently.

"No, it's partly yours too." Spencer snapped as Ezra ran his hand through his hair and inhaled deeply. "You're supposed to look after her. That's Aria. That's—"

"Don't start telling me what she is to me." He clenched his jaw.

"Really? Because I think you're starting to forget wha—"

"You have no idea what she is to me!" He cut in, enraged by Spencer's accusations. "If you think Emily's going to replace her then you're fucking mistaken!"

Moving her lips to the side, Emily breathed in and finally stood up. Approaching Daisy, she leaned in for a kiss. "I'll see you some other time, okay sweetie?" She said softly as she forced a smile.

_"Are you alright?" Wren asked as he moved closer and held her hand._

_"I'm fine. It's just…asthma." Aria said, feeling pathetic at the moment._

_"Hey, that's not something to joke around with." He defended in hopes to make her feel better. __"People die from—"_

_"I know, Wren. I was almost one of those people, remember?" She forced a smile for him._

_Wren took a deep breath and glanced behind him, seeing nurses and visitors passing by. He turned to look at Aria again and took a closer step. "I just…I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I lost you." He said softly, his puppy dog eyes gently gazing at her and as saccharine as it sounded, he meant it, every single syllable._

_As the corners of her mouth curled up slowly, Aria squeezed his hand. "Well, good thing you came, right?"_

_"What if I hadn't, Aria?"_

_She pursed her lips and stared at him with a straight face. "But you did." She said and gave a side smile._

"What do you mean?" He shook his head in denial then he carefully sat on the edge of the bed.

Spencer let out a sigh. "I'll find her another job. I just need you to please—"

"Spencer." He said solidly, expecting her to stop talking. He looked up at her and thought for a moment. "This isn't going anywhere. All of this waiting and pretending, it's—" He wet his lips and pondered more.

"What are you talking about?" Spencer put both of her hands on her waist and furrowed her brow at him.

"It's not right, it just isn't. Pretending like she means nothing to me? I'm not the only one here suffering." He said vaguely and glanced at Spencer to see if she was catching on with whatever he was trying to say. "She needs me just as much as I need her."

Tilting her head, Spencer examined his face for a second and gradually began to shake her head. "No, no, you can't tell her. It's not time."

He stood up impatiently. "When_ is_ the right time? When she can't find another job, when she's drowning in debt? When she's found someone else? When's the fucking time?" He quickly retorted, throwing his hands and if he had a table, he would have flipped it over already.

"When she's fallen in love with you." Spencer simply said like it was the most obvious answer.

He swallowed hard and continuously shook his head at her. "You can't just force people to fall in love. It doesn't work that way. You think it's so easy, but—"

"Please Ezra, not now." Spencer pressed on. "You can't throw all of your chips on the table."

She held his eyes in the hopes of convincing him. Spencer knew she could be taken the wrong way especially how she prevented him from telling Aria, but in truth, she was not at all trying to separate Aria and Ezra. And as convoluted as it seemed to him or to anybody, keeping them apart was a way to keep them together. She knew that this was a one time thing, a hot and cold situation and if Ezra made the wrong step or had said the wrong word then there wasn't really a second chance for him. He could either keep Aria or push her away even farther because telling her that she was supposedly in love with him, a stranger, a man she had just met a few months ago, would frighten her away. Conducting someone's feelings for someone else's was not something one could easily accept. If people didn't like being told what to do then surely and logically, they wouldn't like being told what to feel.

He had his arm around her, supporting her and Aria allowed him even though the gesture was unnecessary; she felt better, a lot better than she had expected. It was frightening how something so small and big as oxygen could revive and take away someone. After the little incident, she began to appreciate the little intangible, unsaid things like the need for oxygen and Wren's arm around her.

"So, that was your field. I've finally got the chance to see your playground." Aria looked up at him with a toothy grin as they exited the hospital.

"Not the way I wanted you to see it, but I suppose whatever works works." Wren said and smiled down at her. "Are you hungry? I have dessert waiting in the car." He said, making her laugh.

"Good because I think my attempt of cooking a meal did not go as well as I planned." She replied as Wren nodded. "I guess that asthma attack saved us both." She joked while he continued to walk. Aria's hand went up to his chest, stopping him for a second.

"Hmm?" Wren asked while looking down at her. Aria tiptoed up and kissed him, causing him to smile between the kiss.

Ezra knocked on the door while nervously biting his lower lip. The door creaked and he quickly looked up and saw Emily's small smile that he knew very well was hurting.

"You left so fast. We didn't get a chance to—" He started and hoped that she would let him in so they could talk.

"I know, I'm sorry." She stayed behind the door.

By the look on her face, he knew for sure the argument between Spencer and him had a great effect on

Emily although he wasn't sure to what point and how severe her wound was but he knew he had hurt her in some way. There was always collateral damage in all things.

He tilted his head at her. "I'm sorry for what had happened back there. I'm sorry for Spencer." He shut his eyes for a second and exhaled sharply. "I'm sorry for what I said. If you caught it or not, it doesn't matter. I still owe you an apology."

Emily simply nodded. "You can't help it." She shrugged. "I just wish I could understand what's happening." She told him and they stayed quiet for a while. "The only thing I know is that you still love her. I know how you feel about her, Ezra. And I can't blame you for that. She's your wife, but—" She went on as Ezra listened attentively. "I…just wish I knew what was going on...so I could help." She gave a light shrug.

He lowered his brow, not expecting the last words that came out of her mouth. If he had to name a bigger person, the biggest person that he knew as of now, he would utter Emily's name without hesitance. "Can I please at least…cook you dinner?" He said and Emily arched her brow before breaking out into a heartily laugh and soon, he joined her; their laughter blending perfectly and friendly.

"Yeah, let me grab my coat." She said as she grinned at him.

"You…" He said clearly. "Need to keep this by your side." He went emphasizing his words. "At all times. I mean it." Wren said and handed her an unopened box, her new inhaler.

Aria skimmed the box and nodded. "Doctor's orders?" She remarked with a playful smile.

"No, Wren's orders." He said and took her by the waist, pulling her closer. "Because Wren fully cares about you. Doctors only half do and they charge you for it at the same time." He stated and pulled her even closer, feeling the warmth of her body through her clothes.

"Let's go home." She softly said as she pressed her face against his chest. She wanted him to stay with her because her nights were long when she was alone and perhaps if she could spend it someone, it wouldn't feel that way anymore. Even her days would feel differently if only she had someone to share them with, if she could share it with Wren.

"I'm sure Toby will need some help with maintaining the shop…since I go there practically once in a blue moon." Emily suggested as they sat across each other with the half-finished meals in front of them.

Ezra studied her eyes, wanting to make sure she was certain about this. "You're an angel." He stated and gave a warm smile. "But I just…I can't do that to you. Aria's not your responsibility." He explained to her.

"Don't look at it that way." She argued. "It's not a favor. I want to do this."

"Why? What do you get out of this?" He questioned. It was rare - better yet, it was not normal for one to just go around, saving and solving people's problems without expecting benefits or rewards in return. Ezra just wanted to know her motive; he wasn't accusing her of anything, he simply needed to know why.

Emily looked at him for a while without saying anything then she gave a one-sided shrug. "If I lost a husband and a daughter, I would want someone to help me bring them back, wouldn't you?"

"She was never my wife." He admitted gravely.

Emily kept her eyes on him, waiting for more, but it looked like he had no plans of explaining further. And soon, she watched him get up from his seat with his plate, heading for the sink. Emily followed, her appetite fully met although satisfying her stomach wasn't the main reason for her coming here.

If there was ever anything that she wanted to do the most, without pay or praise, but simply to fulfill an act of kindness, it would consist of helping people. She wanted to believe that she was brought up right, and that she was here to help people which was one of the main reasons why she was in her current occupation. She was never one to aim for the throne; being a helper, a human seraph in a way, was more than enough for her. And what better way to practice such belief by mending two people who were together and were meant to be together.

They quietly stared at each other, anticipating for one to break out into a smile or spit out a sentence, but Wren and Aria remained in silence, challenging each other with their eyes.

Giving in, Wren slowly smiled and scooted closer to her. "You stare at me quite often, have you noticed that?" He said with a smirk, but Aria had kept a straight face.

"Not as much as you." She answered and did not move her focus out of his face.

"Is something the matter?" He asked seriously, his eyebrows drooping low with concern.

Aria shook her head. "I'm just—" She shrugged lightly. "Happy you're here." She finally managed to get out and almost in slow motion, she leaned in and cupped the sides of his face and started to kiss him.

Wren lightly placed his hands on her lower back and they moved deeper into the couch's end as they continued to kiss slowly and gently.

Fumbling with his belt buckle, Aria swallowed nervously and kissed him harder before feeling Wren pulling away from her. "What?" She asked as he licked his lips.

"I didn't bring…" He inhaled sharply, irritated with himself.

After quite a moment, Aria broke out into a soft laugh and fully grasped what he was implying. "Well, don't expect me to have one." She said, making him grin.

"I am going…" He apprehensively got up. "To run to the store to—" He pressed his lips and held up a finger before her.

Smiling, Aria got up and walked with him, hooking her arm with his as they headed for the door.

"Thank you for dinner. I definitely have to run all those calories off tomorrow." Emily joked as they climbed down the stairs.

"Oh, I think you can get away with a few of those." He replied with a chuckle. Opening the door that led to the first floor, Emily and Ezra walked toward the hallway and slowly stopped as soon as they saw Aria leaving her apartment with someone.

Glancing back at him, Emily swallowed and felt it in her stomach that this was not going to be a pleasant sight for Ezra. She took a couple of steps back, moving closer to Ezra as he stayed still, staring at the couple just several feet away from them.

Turning around to face him, Emily carefully grabbed him by the arm and pulled on it. "C'mon, let's just…" Emily began to say, but was interrupted by Aria's laughter so she turned back and saw the couple clutching to one another for a playful kiss. Emily inhaled deeply and faced Ezra who seemed to be frozen all of a sudden. "Ezra, please, let's just go back upstairs—" She begged and tugged on his shirt once again.

When Aria had told him about seeing someone, Ezra assumed for it to be a lie, an excuse just so she didn't have to deal with him. But not once did he think it to be true, at least he never wanted it to be true.

"Aria?" Ezra called out after her while Emily instinctively ducked her head before looking up again with a certain uneasiness.

Stopping in her tracks, Aria turned around and smiled as she watched Ezra walking in their direction. "Wait, Wren…" She said as she pulled back an oblivious Wren. "Hold on—" She said and he smoothly turned around.

"You…" Ezra involuntary let out, not even in a form of question, just a word coming out without much purpose or feeling. He knew exactly what was happening, he knew Wren's face and everything he had known about him since the day they first met, but for some reason his name did not process quickly enough, as if his own mind was in denial of his friend's deceit.


	15. Chapter 15

**_AJMcGough: so Wren and Ezra were really good friends?  
- Yeah, Aria and Ezra met Wren at the same time and are equally close to him.  
AriaEzraForever: (sorry for my long review and rant btw)  
- Don't be! Writers love this. Or at least I do. :D  
Nabrenda12: How long will this story be?  
- I'm not certain yet. I'm still writing it. :)_**

**You guys can watch this video I made just for this story: acquiescently*tumblr*com/post/25466642742/small-bump**

**_Thank you guys so much for the reviews and I'm sorry for the long wait, but I will assure you that I will never abandon a story. :)  
_**

* * *

_It had become a ritual, every night just before eight o'clock when Daisy would not be too tired or fussy for anything. Ezra crossed his legs as Daisy crawled in bed, reaching and playing with the pictures spread out in front of her._

_Ezra took a picture of Aria and held it up for Daisy. "Mommy…Mom, Mama, Mum—" He enunciated hoping his daughter would catch on. Sighing, he climbed out of bed and placed two huge pillows between Daisy for security. He then proceeded to the television set and from the drawer, he took out a disc and played it. He walked back to bed and carried Daisy as he attempted to make her watch the screen._

_"See that?" He said in a light baby talk. "That's her—" He said as he took a picture from the bed. "That's Mommy." He added as Daisy watched quietly. "Can you say that for me?" Ezra asked and dipped his head down to take a look at Daisy's face._

_Daisy raised her hand and pointed at the screen, her finger shakily moving; she had yet to perfect her motor skill. Her head turned and looked up at Ezra._

_"Hmm?" He let out and looked back at her. Then she went back to the screen, bringing up both of her hands, and opened and closed them, beckoning for the woman on the screen._

_"Yeah, I know how it feels, bug." He muttered and pulled Daisy closer to his body without taking his eyes off of the screen._

"What's going on?" Helena held the door open as Ezra quickly walked in and kissed her on the cheek. "How are you?"

"Umm, I'm sorry to drop by like this, things are kinda hectic—" He gestured at the small baby car seat in his right hand, and in it was Daisy, sleeping soundly.

Helena shook her head. "You're welcome any time, you know that." She said as she took the car seat out of his hands. "Are you okay? Would you like a drink? Water?" She offered as they ambled to the living room.

"No, no I'm fine." He uttered hurriedly. "I'm sorry for the trouble." Ezra said once again as he rubbed his forehead. "Thank you for this." He added, gesturing at Daisy. "I'll only be a few days."

"Ezra, babe. Relax, will you? I'm more than happy to look after this little angel. It'll be like a training for me." She smiled softly. "Hardy's out getting lunch, but he should be back soon. You wanna stay and—"

"That's alright, Daisy and I already ate." He informed her while setting the bags on the floor.

Helena watched him move quickly. "I'll tell him you stopped by." She said as Ezra straightened up.

"You're a lifesaver, Helena." Ezra replied with a small smile and kissed her on the cheek one more time. "Call if you need—"

"That won't be necessary." She jumped in. "You worry about yourself."

_"Hey!" Aria smiled widely at Emily. "Well, the day has come. You're not in your usual gear." She joked._

_Emily apprehensively smiled back, but all she could think about was Ezra. "Yeah, who would have thought?" She nonchalantly quipped back. She glanced at Wren and saw him whispering something to Aria before walking off._

_"Wait, you're going?" Aria asked Wren and he gestured at his phone, indicating a duty call. "Well…" She sighed. "I'll see you tomorrow?" She said as she pulled him in for a kiss that he reluctantly submitted to._

_Emily could almost feel Ezra's fuming energy behind her so she stayed in front of him, afraid that he would do something he would regret, and more importantly, something that would give Aria the reason to despise him._

_Ultimately approaching them, Aria smiled. "Where's the little one?" Aria asked and looked at Ezra, reckoning he would answer._

_"She's sleeping." Emily swiftly replied._

_Puzzled for a moment although not knowing exactly why she would be, Aria nodded. "Oh…" She let out and finally, Ezra's eyes narrowed on her with an expression plastered on his face, a look that made her all of a sudden feel penitent, only she did not know what she had said or did to even feel such thing._

_"Ezra…" Emily trailed off as they both watched him turn away and walk off to the end of the hallway and back onto the stairs where he quickly disappeared._

_"What just happened?" Aria asked, her eyes not leaving the end of the hallway._

_Emily shook her head. "He probably just needs to check on Daisy."_

_Aria reached for Emily's arm, desperate for a real answer. "Is he okay?"_

_"Yes, why wouldn't he be?" Emily feigned a smile. "I'll catch you later, okay?"_

_"Yeah…" Aria said slowly as she watched Emily follow Ezra's trail._

_Right outside the door, Emily could hear thuds and crashes that only she could assume to be the product of Ezra's agonizing outrage. Hurriedly, she went in and immediately spotted the fallen bookcase and the coffee table flipped over just a few feet away._

_With his back turned to her, Emily sighed through her nose and approached him. "Ezra—" Emily began to say._

_"Just get out, Emily." Ezra demanded and turned to face her. "You have no business of being here." He said and remained in his spot, his breathing heavy and his hands balled up in fists. Then a moment later, he turned around, walked up to the bookcase, reached down to grab a shelf and threw it across the room, causing a loud noise to resonate in the apartment._

_And through the wall, they could hear Daisy breaking out into a cry. So Emily dared to take a closer step to Ezra. "Please, Ezra, just breathe, okay? It's—"_

_"Get out!"_

_"No! Alright? I'm not leaving. For Daisy's sake!" Emily retorted as she walked to him, leaving a foot distance between them. "I'm not leaving you with her." She said as she stared him down, knowing how much of a ticking human time bomb he was right now._

_"What did you say?" He breathed out and Emily swallowed hard in response._

_"I'm not leaving her while you're like this." She repeated, taking a small staggering step back._

_"You think I'd hurt my own daughter?" He asked, taking great offense._

_Emily tilted her head. "No, Ezra wouldn't." She answered carefully. "But an angry man would." She told him as her hands reached out for him. With caution, she approached him inch by inch while he stayed tensed and infuriated. "Hey…" She said softly before his stance charged for the bookcase and Emily grabbed his arm and the other hand went up to the side of his face, making him face her. "Ezra—" She said before pulling him in and kissing him hard on the mouth. "It's gonna be okay—" She whispered as she pulled on his shirt's collar and Ezra gave in and wrapped his arms tightly around her._

"Hey there." Aria beamed at him. "Do you need me to look after Daisy today?" She asked as she walked up to him while Ezra locked the apartment.

He quickly glanced at her and shook his head. "No, a friend of mine is already looking after her." He said rather dismissively.

Aria nodded slowly and observed Ezra's posture, noticing the cold shoulder he was giving her. Reaching for his arm, Aria tilted her head. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Did you?" He asked tersely and fixed his bags on the floor.

Her eyebrows rose questioningly. "I was hoping you'd tell me." She replied. "Ezra, are you angry with me? Because please, just tell me now so—"

He stood upright and looked at her for a moment. He could see the genuine gleam in her eyes, the kind that tugged at him, reminding him whenever they argued where inevitably and helplessly, he would surrender because it was her most unjust quality of all; that gleam could bring him down to his knees and apologize for things he never even thought of doing. He wondered if everyone had that quality and if they did, he pitied those who had to endure it.

"No." He answered and breathed deeply. "I never learned how to be angry with you." He simply said before taking his bags off of the floor and heading out.

She watched him pace back and forth. "Well, where are you going?" Emily finally asked.

Ezra stopped moving and looked at her. "I don't know." He sighed out.

"You don't know where you're going yet you've already packed bags…"

"I just need to get away."

"Do you think that's the best thing right now?" Emily fished. "Leaving her alone with that Wren guy?"

Pressing on his closed eyes, Ezra shook his head and took a seat. "I'm losing her again." He stated and leaned over, putting his palm against his forehead while he looked down at the floor.

Emily ambled her way and sat beside him. "You can't lose her." She said and placed her hand on top of his. "You have Daisy. You'll always have Daisy." She reminded him. "Wren can't take that away from you and he sure as hell can't take that away from Aria. So, don't let him."

_'Come join me for dinner, won't you?' His message read with his name signed at the end. Aria took a moment to read it again before glancing up to look at Ezra. Then she read the message once more. 'Come join me—'_

_Aria furrowed her brow at the meaning of his words, over-analyzing each letter or rather analyzing it just perfectly._

_"Babe—" She called him and he looked up in response. "Wren's inviting us for dinner."_

_"Oh yeah?" He asked as he stayed in the couch, writing and grading papers._

_"I don't know…actually." She backpedaled as she walked to him. "I don't know what this means."_

_"What don't you know?" Ezra leaned back as Aria sat on his lap with her phone just a few inches away from his face. Squinting, Ezra skimmed the message and smiled to himself._

_"What?" Aria asked curiously. "What's that smile for?"_

_"He's not inviting us. He's inviting you." He simply explained and wrapped his arms around her small waist. "Sounds to me like a certain foreigner is taken by a certain girl."_

_"So, do we want to go?" She said, tuning out his other comment._

_"You can go if you want." Ezra said as Aria leaned down to give his lips a peck._

_"But I want both of my boys to be there." She said softly._

_Ezra pulled back. "Your boys?" He cocked an eyebrow. "Wren may be a boy, but sweetheart—" He pulled her in and kissed her neck. "I'm a man." He said with an exaggerated, rather comical deep voice and Aria laughed softly._

_"Yeah, you neanderthal." She jested, poking his cheek with her forefinger and quickly, her humorous face had changed completely. "I love you." She breathed out._

_Ezra looked at her earnestly before getting up and throwing her over his shoulder, causing her to let out a sound that was between a yelp and a laugh. Ezra, with a caveman-like attitude and grunts, proceeded to carry her all the way to their bedroom._

_Aria laughed. "And I was saved. I was saved by a flying, wild man in a loincloth!" She delivered theatrically._

_"Is that from Tarzan?" He asked, breaking out of his character._

_"You weren't doing Tarzan?" She asked self-consciously while her hair remained all over her face._

_"Oh, Jane, my Jane, you are hopeless!" Ezra added and kicked the door behind him as Aria held onto the hem of his shirt, grinning foolishly._

"Spencer, sometimes I wish you'd just drop it." Aria said irritatedly and placed the tray on the coffee table.

Chewing on her lip, Spencer rolled her eyes. "And sometimes, I wish you'd just tell me." She reached over and grabbed herself a cup of coffee.

"Alright, you want me to tell you?" She said as Spencer nodded enthusiastically. "You want to know why?" Aria began and sat across from her. "He's got a daughter. That's the first thing."

"And that's such a bad thing?"

"Yes."

"How?" Spencer asked, her voice reaching higher from shock.

"Because he's…" Aria shook her head. "He'll always have his daughter to remind him of her." She explained. "It's just not my place to get in between them." She shrugged lightly.

"That's ridiculous, Aria." She commented. "I know you're not ignoring a guy for raising a daughter. _Alone_. May I remind you? So, try again." Spencer demanded and narrowed her eyes on her friend who sighed deeply. "Aria, tell me one thing." She began and moved closer. "Do you feel anything, _anything_ at all, for him?" She asked softly.

Aria looked intently at Spencer before answering. "I would…" She admitted.

"But?…" Spencer jutted her head at her.

"He's too…in love with his wife. I can see it, I can feel it, every time he talks about her, even in the slightest mention of her…I just—" Aria added as she stared blankly into space while Spencer sat quietly, slowly dying from the irony of it all. Shaking the thought off, Aria exhaled sharply. "Anyway, it's completely out of the question. Especially after last night."

Spencer's face straightened. "Why? What happened last night?" She asked eagerly.

Aria looked at her and gave another shrug. "I don't know, but he's…not pleased with me. That I do know."

"And how do you know that exactly?"

Aria pressed her lips together and shrugged once more as Spencer studied her face. "It doesn't matter." Aria went on. "I've got Wren and he's been nothing but a gentleman to me."

Spencer let out an exasperated sigh. "Well, I like Ezra." She bluntly remarked, a little under her breath.

Glaring at her, Aria shook her head. "If you like him so much, why don't you go for it yourself?" She countered sarcastically. "And this isn't high school, Spencer."

"How would you know?" Spencer snapped and quickly recoiled after seeing Aria's reaction. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."

"Of course you did." Aria said solemnly and looked away.

Maybe she had the right to be angry with her friend, but could she really blame her? It was true and that truth would always be in the back of her mind - the nagging idea of waking up and knowing she had something before this, but what pained her the most was that she couldn't feel any traces of the loss whatsoever. She knew they were there, but she couldn't prove its existence. And she didn't know what was worse, to have an unfading smudge that signified that she had done something, felt, and loved something even if she couldn't know what all of those were, or to not have any of it at all?

_Lacing his fingers with hers, Ezra lowered his head and moved their linked hands above her head._

_"Ezra…" Aria let out, keeping her gaze on him as he thrust gently into her._

_"Hmm?" He responded lightly while his other hand traveled down her waist, feeling the warmth of her skin._

_Aria lifted her head and kissed him, and continued to tug on his lips as she brought her head back down on the soft pillow. She moved her free hand and touched his neck that was covered in perspiration, a reaction that she very much reveled in. The thought of him exerting himself for her was something she selfishly enjoyed and in return, she provided him with uncontainable sounds that she well knew would entice him. In a way, subtly or not, intentionally or unintentionally, in or out of bed, they dedicated themselves, worked up themselves, gave themselves for each other._

"Wow, that was quick." She commented as Ezra stormed in.

"I'm sorry. Change of plans." Ezra quickly said.

Hardy walked in and broke into a pleasant smile. "Hey! I thought you were going away." He grinned.

"Yeah." Ezra smiled. "I'm gonna need Daisy back." He said solidly.

Helena furrowed her brow. "She's busy—" She turned around and gestured at Daisy who was in her walker, bouncing and watching the television. "Looks like she's found a new favorite show." She smiled playfully and implied the home videos that Ezra had brought with him, and that were now playing right before Daisy's eyes.

From a distance, he could hear his voice and Aria's voice talking so he watched from afar, observing Daisy, and now he was having second thoughts of taking her back. He wanted his daughter to be familiar with her mother because even though Aria had forgotten about them doesn't mean Daisy had to as well.

"C'mon, we might as well have a go at that shooting range now. You and I need to talk anyway." Hardy chimed in and grabbed Ezra's shoulder, patting it. "We'll be back in a little bit, Lena." He trailed off.

_She reached for her phone as it buzzed once more, indicating a text. 'Message me back or you'll be at fault for my starvation which may soon become my death.' His message read with a little smiley face in the end._

_"Just go already." Ezra insisted and sat up, pressing his bare back against the headboard._

_Aria rolled her eyes and faced him. "I'm not hungry." She said and stretched over to reach for his body._

_"I'm giving you a blessing. Why aren't you accepting it?" Ezra pressed on and looked down at, seeing her straight face. "What's wrong?"_

_"Do you hear yourself? A blessing?"_

_"Sorry. I give you—" He held his breath for a couple of seconds, pretending to think of the appropriate word. "A permission to escort the poor lad." He replied with a mocking tone._

_"Honestly, sometimes I think you're a little too trusting with me." She admitted and swallowed hard._

_"Well, you haven't given me any reasons to not be." Ezra pointed out and placed his hand on her arm, pulling her closer._

_"Are you waiting for me to?" Aria looked up and studied his eyes._

_"To mistrust you?" He questioned._

_"For me to fall for him." She simply said. "Or for him to fall for me…whichever comes first."_

_"See, that's where you're wrong, sweetheart." He began and licked his lips. "He's already fallen for you." He paused and glanced at her again, making sure she was listening. "I can't blame the poor guy, but I can blame you and I do, believe me, I do."_

_"How is it my damn fault?" She asked, a bit ridiculed so she turned her face away from him and played with her fingernails instead._

_He looked down at her, keeping quiet for a minute to examine her face until she finally gazed back at him._

_"You never not once make someone not fall for you, Aria. And the worst part is you don't even try." He said and they held each other's eyes for a while before Aria turned away again, flustered and disquieted by his comment. "That's your damn catch." He added and sighed. "Why couldn't you have a different catch?" He said to himself._

_"Because it doesn't matter. Alright?" She suddenly answered back and moved up closer to him. "What good is a catch when it's already been caught?" Aria declared and pressed her lips against his, deeply inhaling in the kiss._

"Whoa, buddy, when was the last time you practiced?" Hardy commented as he watched Ezra's scattered shots all over the target that was under twenty five yards away.

"Oh you wait until Helena pops your kid out, your aim will be as shit as mine." Ezra replied and took off the protective headphones.

Hardy snickered, fixed his own headphones, and stepped up to take Ezra's spot. "Sorry to say this, but that's not gonna happen." He defended while loading a new magazine for the pistol.

"Yeah, why's that?" Ezra asked as he stepped back and crossed his arms above his chest.

Hardy glanced back and saw his friend's curious face. Hardy quickly realized that he shouldn't have said anything else and he hadn't thought of his comment too carefully before stating it. Because now he had to explain that his time wouldn't be consumed as much as it had Ezra's with Daisy. Hardy had Helena by his side and their leisure time would be divided into two. Ezra, a solitary parent, would be required to spend his time with Daisy.

Forcing a smile, Hardy shook his head. "Because your aim's always been shit." He told him before turning around to shoot. "So, how is she anyway?" Hardy asked casually in between shots. "How are you handling things?"

Ezra brushed his finger over his lips before talking. "I'm not handling anything." He answered and Hardy turned around to take a good look at his face.

Setting down the pistol, Hardy let out a soft sigh before fully taking the headset. "Look, Ezra, I didn't come here to play pretend cowboy with you…" He said and approached him.

"I had a hunch." Ezra chimed in.

"As a friend, as a real friend, I—" Hardy cleared his throat. "I may have seen something that—"

"Is this about Aria?" Ezra cut off as Hardy nodded. "I know."

"You know? You know what?"

Ezra raised his eyebrows once. "Yes, I know."

"Well?" Hardy replied, cocking his head at him.

"Well what?"

"Well, what the hell are you gonna do about it?" Hardy said. "You're not telling me you're just gonna sit there and take it. We could take this to court, man." He added with such determination and confidence.

Ezra scoffed shortly. "Take what to court? There's no case here, Hardy. This isn't some first degree murder that you can just get your hands on and show to the judge."

"No, it's worse." Hardy said and walked closer to him as he shook his head simultaneously. "This isn't just about you and Aria. Or for that English son of a bitch. You have your daughter." He said solidly. "I may not know how to be a father just yet, but I won't let my kids spend their birthdays without their mother by their side." He said as Ezra kept quiet. "Just because some horny asshole had a chance to take her away."

Ezra took a step back, almost staggering as if something had hit him. "Shit…" He let out and covered his mouth with both hands, running them over it. "Fuck—" He shut his eyes.

"What?" Hardy asked and watched his friend grow red from frustration, almost like he wanted to hurt himself. And shortly afterward, he watched Ezra storm out, leaving him confounded.

"What's the rush?" Helena stepped aside as Ezra walked in, followed by Hardy who shot his wife a look. "What's going on?" She whispered as her husband stood beside her.

Hardy drew in a huge breath and wrapped his arm around Helena's shoulder. "He's out of it, that's what." He said as Helena darted him a glare. Hardy rolled his eyes. "He forgot his daughter's six-month birthday. That's all, hon." He informed her. "It's not a big deal."

Helena pulled away and glared at him more. "It's a big deal for him. Don't disregard someone else's happiness just because it doesn't involve you." She retorted and scoffed disappointingly at him before walking away.

Sighing, Hardy rolled his eyes once more. "Please! Someone remind me why I married Mother Teresa." He remarked as he threw his hands in front of him.

Ezra went into the living room and found Daisy crawling on the covered floor, playing with some toys. "Hey, kiddo." He squatted down in front of her and picked her up. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, bug." He said and kissed her cheek over and over again as Daisy squirmed. "Forgive me." He said against her baby smooth skin and pulled away to look at her.

Daisy stared back with a vibrant look on her face, undeniably happy to see the most familiar face in front of her. Her small hands reached for both of his cheeks, her lips smacking ready to let out some sounds.

"Yes, he's a forgetful idiot. Dada's sorry." He repeated and smiled as Daisy touched his face as her mouth opened and closed before she did another smack of the lips, and began to babble, calling for her _'ma'_ repeatedly.


	16. Chapter 16

**_prettylittlelover: Please tell me aria is going to get her memory back._  
-_ In case you've missed my clarification earlier, the case with Aria is that her memories have been erased, not lost or anything. There's nothing to get back because it's gone. :(  
_****  
Sorry for the long wait. Thank you very much for the reviews! You guys are amazing. :)**

**- Queen.**

* * *

_"I should have made Spencer stay and help if I knew you were just gonna stand there. You could help, you know?" She said as she shook her head at him. The house-warming-pre-pre-baby-shower party had finished a little later than they had expected and they were now inevitably responsible for cleaning up the apartment._

_Ezra smiled to himself as he stayed on the opposite side of the living room, fidgeting with the disc player. He let out a content sound after finding the right slow song from one of his old discs. Turning around, he looked at her and wiggled his eyebrows. "Come here for a sec, hmm?" He proposed and turned the music louder._

_"Now?" Aria groaned at him, watching him hold out his hand with patience. "Why don't we clean up the pigsty first before we dance?" She said as he now approached her._

_"Or…" He began to say as soon as he was close enough to her. Sliding in his hand around her lower back, Ezra planted it lightly there and took the empty cup in her hand and put it on the coffee table. "We could clean up after we dance." He said with his crooked smile._

_Rolling her head to the side, Aria sighed softly and gave in. "You're lucky I like Patsy Cline." She muttered, making him chuckle for a second._

_"Why wouldn't you like Patsy Cline?" He remarked and began to sway her as Aria settled her head in the crook of his neck._

_"Just remember when a dream appears…" He sang very softly and let Patsy Cline finish off the line._

_Aria looked up and gazed at him. "Are you scared? For what's about to come?" She asked, implying the new life she was carrying with her._

_"Are you?"_

_"No." She answered instantly._

_"That's an overly confident answer for someone who's never had a child." He commented._

_"I'm not having it alone." She reminded him. "You'll be here." She said hopefully._

_Ezra looked down at her and nodded. "Because—" He held, waiting to time it with the song. "…You belong to me." He sang and pulled her closer, resting his chin on top of her head._

Aria skimmed over the nutrition facts on the back of the package that had the Green's Market trademark stamped on it. However the words failed to absorb in her diverted mind. Side glancing, she noticed Ezra pushing his cart and heading to a different aisle. Sighing to herself, she finally walked up and followed his trail.

"Anything. Anything you want. It's your day, remember?" Ezra quipped as Daisy held onto a wrapped string cheese. She began to rattle it in front of her and looked up at him. "Really? You've never heard of the saying 'cutting the cheese'?" He joked and turned the cart to the right, halting before it could hit Aria.

"Sorry." They both muttered.

Aria quickly looked at the ground for a second before lifting her eyes back up at Ezra again, awaiting for something, anything. But Ezra plainly stared at her while she blocked his way.

Drawing back from her plan which seemed so sure and confident a minute ago, Aria shook her head and forced a smile that twitched nervously. "Sorry." She said once more before moving out of the way.

"Aria." Ezra finally said before she could leave the aisle. Watching her face him, he lightly cleared his throat. "Are you free later?" He asked.

"Umm, yeah, I am." She slowly answered, not wanting to seem eager.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to join us for Daisy's party tonight." He said while he began to scratch the side of his face.

"Yeah, of course." Aria smiled calmly.

_With a hushed laughter coming from both of their throats, Aria tugged on his hand and continued for the aisle._

_Ezra shook his head at her as they hid behind the aisle. "You know, you should be studying for your finals tomorrow." He reminded her. "Not fooling around at a convenient store at one o'clock in the morning." He said and glanced up at the counter to check on the clerk._

_"Yet here you are, completely enjoying it. You damn hypocrite." She remarked before tiptoeing up to kiss him. After pulling away, she went to grab something from the shelf. Turning to face him, Aria wiggled her eyebrows at him._

_"Yeah, that's—" He began to stammer as he glanced at the pack in her hand. "You should be fine for your finals. You're a smart girl." He quickly said as Aria laughed and pulled on his hand once more, heading back to the register._

_Ezra stood behind her, looking up at the ceiling and trying his best not to smile. Feeling her hand going up to grab his, Ezra finally looked back and saw the cashier curiously eyeing them._

_"Will this be all?" The cashier asked Aria who simply nodded in response._

_Grabbing a few bottles of those mini-sized energy drink from the counter, Aria smiled sweetly at the cashier and added it to her purchase._

_"And these." She said as he looked back at her with a growing suspicion. "It's exam day tomorrow." She explained and flashed him another smile, but she could tell that he was not convinced; although she admired his ability to keep such a straight face in the midst of it all._

_"Oh man…" Ezra whispered under his breath and looked away as Aria finally paid and gathered the items._

_As they walked back to their car, Aria scoffed. "You buy a pack of condoms and a bunch of energy drinks and guy suddenly thinks you're a sex maniac." Aria commented as she looped her arm with his._

_Ezra shook his head at her. "Yeah, well, try being the older guy standing behind a young college girl who's buying those items." He said, making her laugh and unlink herself from him as soon as they reached the car._

_"Please, you're living every man's dreams. Cashier's included." Aria noted as she stood across from him; the car separating them._

_"And you every other girls' fantasy." Ezra looked at her and gave a smug smile._

_"We're professionals at flattering ourselves, aren't we?" Aria chuckled and waited for him to reply before getting inside the vehicle._

_Ezra shook his head jokingly and leaned closer, placing his hands on top of the roof. "We flatter each other." He told her, making her smile._

_It was the kind of smile that uncontrollably formed upon her face not necessarily because of trivial happiness or how comical things could be or because she just felt it was appropriate to smile, but it was the kind that quietly agreed to what he had just said, a validation for what they were to each other; two fitting pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, the hands of a clock that wouldn't give the same effect if one existed without the other, the grooves of a key that could open a unique lock; that was what they were to each other, and it didn't really have any other way of translating it into words because words would be too insufficient and kissing right now would extinguish the unpretentious moment they shared. There were no other ways that could explain it any better than that smile itself; an agreement to what they were to each other and what they could do to each other._

"You're not invited." He said solidly as Spencer scoffed with disgust and shock.

"What the hell, Ezra?" Spencer exclaimed.

"Aria will be there." He simply explained. "I can't have you randomly appearing at my daughter's party and having Aria questioning your presence." He added and right then, he could picture Spencer shutting her eyes in defeat over the phone. "This is one of your little prices to pay, Spence."

After a few seconds of silence, Spencer swallowed hard at the comment. "That's not fair, you know…" She said, her tone of voice clearly in pain. "I never would have given her those plane tickets if I knew what was coming."

"I'm not blaming you for the incident, but the least you could have done was tell her about me when you had the chance." Ezra answered bitterly. "She could have gotten used to the idea of me."

She clenched her jaw. "Perhaps she didn't want to, did you ever think of that?" She spat back and breathed deeply.

Ezra furrowed his brow at her retort. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing, alright, it didn't mean anything." Spencer instantly retrieved, thinking that more stress was something he needed the least. "She was just groggy and selfish at the time. It didn't mean anything." Spencer spoke fast.

"She wouldn't say that." He said as if to convince himself into believing that Aria was anything but selfish. "That's not Aria."

He had always thought that about her even when she didn't herself. But the thought of her not wanting to be with him before she even had the chance of knowing who he was just for the sake of avoiding the obstacle she would have to go with him again was disgustingly devastating. And how she was so willing to discard what she already had made him want to hate her and for a moment, he did, he truly did, and it felt worse seeing how he couldn't justify it with her, and how he couldn't confess to her why he hated her for making him hate her because of her naivety.

Sighing through her nose, Spencer pursed her lips. "No, it's not. Of course it's not Aria." She said. "I'm sorry, that was…you really didn't need to know that. But—" She sighed again. "A person can only take so much blame…"

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Spencer." Ezra said rather indifferently and hung up the phone.

Spencer kept the phone pressed to her ear even though she could hear the dial tone ringing and her friendship with Ezra dwindling down bits by bits. She didn't want that to happen; nobody, not even Aria, especially not Aria if she was still herself would have wanted that. Frowning to herself, Spencer finally put down the phone and thought for a moment, thinking how she needed to travel again, to fly a thousand miles away from here to clear her head, to hopefully save whatever bond she had left with Ezra.

"Oh, careful, careful." Helena repeated as Hardy carried the cake and placed it on the table.

"You really didn't have to, you guys." Ezra said and planted a kiss on the side of her head.

"It's the least we can do." She said and smiled sweetly for him. "Now, where's the little angel? I've got her a little present." She said in a singsong voice before trailing off to the living room, expecting Daisy to be there.

"Did you talk to him?" Hardy flat-out asked and leaned against the dining table with his arms crossed above his chest.

Ezra faced him and shook his head. "Now's not the time." He said as Hardy gave an eye roll.

"Whatever, man." Hardy stated. "It's your wife. I did my part." He added and Ezra drew his head back at the word. Every single time it was mentioned, he was reminded of his stupidity.

"She was not my wife." Ezra snapped as Hardy looked at him, a bit surprised by the tone of his voice. "If she were, we wouldn't be having this conversation." He stated.

_His mouth was left opened and his eyes wide from shock. Ezra kissed her cheek over and over again. "Oh, you said it!" He beamed. "You did it, honey." He looked at her as Daisy squealed and kicked her legs all over the place._

_"I guess watching those videos really helped." Helena pointed out as she watched the two before her._

_Ezra turned around and smiled at her too. "Thank you."_

_"I don't know why you're thanking me. They're your videos." She said and smiled back. "Before you know it, she'll be speaking in full sentences."_

_"That would be great." He said and faced Daisy again, raising her up with both of his arms. "Wouldn't that be great, sweetheart?" He gazed at her, locking his eyes with her._

_He studied the color in them, the green and small specks of golden yellow circling the center. He could see Aria in the pair without even needing to do a double take. Her daughter's eyes were big for her small face, and they were spontaneous and had mischief in them at times. Ezra lowered Daisy a bit as his mouth formed into a faint scowl, saddened at the apparent realization that Aria was not here to witness her own daughter's accomplishment and how even more heartbroken it felt to know that he couldn't share his happiness with her._

"We could catch a movie tonight." Wren offered, keeping his eyes warily as he stayed behind the door talking on his phone. "I'll be off early."

"Actually, I can't go out tonight. Why don't you just come over? My neighbor's having a birthday party. Please come with me."

"A neighbor?" He fished, hoping she would reveal a name.

"Mhm-mhm." Aria answered. "It'll be nice. It's for his daughter."

And immediately, he knew who she was talking about. Wren tilted his chin up and glanced ahead to see if anyone was coming because phone calls were strictly prohibited during shifts. "Umm, we'll see, okay?" He finally said.

Lowering her brow, Aria laughed dryly for a moment. "I thought you said you were free?"

"I—I know, it's just—" He scratched his jawline. "It's not for sure yet though."

"Oh?"

"I might get a call and I wouldn't want to…flake on…" He reluctantly said, finding it a struggle to make up an explanation. "Can I call you back? They're calling for me."

"Sure." She said, her tone of voice unsure of what was happening. "But will you at least try and make it?"

"Definitely." Wren said quickly and tried to put a smile in his voice. He had to lie. Who in their right mind would accept such invitation? "I'll talk to you soon?"

"Okay, bye-bye." Aria replied and pulled her phone away from her ear and looked at it for a moment with a very thoughtful look on her face.

_The buzzing against the wooden nightstand had cause her to jolt up, fully waking her from her light sleep. Aria glanced at Ezra from head to toe as he snored softly, his face pressed against the pillow, his lower bare back covered by the thin blanket. Rolling over to her side, Aria squinted a bit and reached for her phone on the nightstand. It was a little shy of seven o'clock in the morning and her first exam was in two hours. She knew having Ezra over in her dorm suite during finals week was a horrendous idea; even he had told her the same, but the sex had outweighed out the lack of sleep so she felt that was a good enough reason, and having a warm body next to her specifically his, was always comforting. Fidgeting with the phone, she checked an unopened text message and arched her eyebrows at Wren's name._

_'I'm a bit in a rut. Please call me as soon as you get this message. - Wren'_

_Climbing out of bed, Aria picked up Ezra's shirt from the floor and pulled it over her head as she dialed Wren's number._

_"Hi, sorry, I just received your message." She said after hearing his voice. "Is everything alright?" She asked before letting out a yawn._

_"I've made a very daft move last night. They've placed a wheel lock for my car for parking in a handicapped spot."_

_Aria chuckled. "Why would you park—"_

_"Aw c'mon, I was in a rush! And it was dark and there were no more spots left!" He interrupted with a charming voice before she could finish poking fun at him. "Anyway, that's besides the point. At the moment, I have no car and my finals will be in a few hours, and the hell with cabs, I don't think I've seen one pass me this early—"_

_Aria ran her fingers through her tousled hair and walked back to the bed, sitting on the edge of it. "Well, Ezra and I could pick you up if you're asking for a ride. That is why you're calling me so early in the morning, right?" She offered as she looked back at her boyfriend._

_"That'd be lovely. Honestly, I would owe you so much. If it's not much of a bother, yeah?"_

_"Yeah, no, no, it's fine. I have an exam too so hopefully, we both make it on time." She pointed out._

_"I'm sorry for waking you up so early. I didn't know who else to call."_

_"Wren, don't worry about it, okay?" Aria reassured once more. "You called the right person." She added._

_"I did." Wren replied and smiled to himself._

_"We'll come pick you up in a bit. I'll call you back when we're close." She informed him as she sat closer to Ezra, letting her hand run over his arm. After hanging up the call, Aria leaned down closer and kissed Ezra's arm. "Wake up…" She said in a singsong voice and worked her way up to his face, kissing him lightly as he let out a faint groan._

The small dancing flame went out as Ezra carried Daisy close up to it, pretending to help her blow out the tiny friends cheered and clapped for the little girl as Ezra looked at Aria from across the table, smiling along with his friends. Finally, Aria looked up and saw him smiling at her and so in return, the corners of her delicate mouth curled up a little.

There were only Ezra's close friends; Helena, Hardy, and Emily who brought along Toby since he and Ezra had never met before and thought this was the perfect opportunity for the two to officially meet. As soon as the gleeful clamor simmered down, Helena had walked up to her, offering her a plate of the cake, but Aria simply smiled and turned it down, claiming that she was already too full to eat any more. Instead, she sat down on the couch and sipped on her drink while watching the others chatter on. She was not good at these types of things and truthfully, she was beginning to feel a little out of the group. Perhaps it would have been a great idea to bring someone she knew, and she thought she was going to have Wren around, but it had been hours and it was pretty much a given that he was not coming. She only wished he had given her at least a call or a message to confirm his absence although she couldn't blame him and his tight schedule.

From the distance, she set her focus on Toby and Emily who entertained Daisy by throwing the little girl slightly up in the air, and Toby, with ease, catching her back down. Aria smiled to herself, picturing the two and how much of a couple they looked. She tried to picture her and Wren doing the same; her smile grew even wider at the image.

She snapped out of her trance after hearing Ezra's voice beside her, asking her if she was alright. Nodding, Aria took a deep breath and faced him. "This turned out really well, Ezra. Thank you for inviting me." She said with a faint smile.

"No problem." Ezra replied and sat down next to her. Before they could engage in a deeper conversation, Toby and Emily approached them with Daisy and stated that they had to go prepare and close the shop.

Standing up, Ezra nodded at Emily and hugged her while simultaneously thanking her for coming over. Toby waited and shook his hand, thanking him as well. Ezra walked the two to the door with Daisy in his hold.

Shortly afterward, Hardy was getting ready to take off as well after finally noticing that there were less people in the apartment.

"It's fine. I got it." Ezra told Helena who insisted in helping with cleaning up.

"Sweetheart…" Hardy gave her a look, implying Aria who stayed with Daisy in the living room. "Let them clean it up." He smirked at Ezra.

"Oh, alright…" Helena gave in and sighed. "See you soon, hon." She said and kissed Ezra on his cheek.

After shutting the door behind him, Ezra walked back to the living room. He took a moment to enjoy this little scene with Aria holding Daisy and was relieved at how it was only the three of them now in his apartment, as it used to be, and as it always should be perhaps soon, it would come back to the way it once was.

Aria easily found comfort in Daisy. She wondered if it was because she was a baby and did not know anything else but to smile and laugh, or because she felt somewhere else whenever she held the baby who somehow managed to make her forget about certain things, things that made her feel lost sometimes. It was the pure joy that Daisy had exuded, the kind that made you remember that things in the world couldn't be so bad if someone found something worthy enough for just a smile.

Leaning forward, Aria grinned and continued to playfully kiss Daisy on the belly, making the baby squeal each time. Pulling back, she teased Daisy by dipping her head down again. Kissing and mimicking farting sounds against Daisy's soft belly, the baby grabbed onto Aria's hair and began to babble, calling her 'ma' continuously.

Aria quickly pulled back and stared at the Daisy who continued on calling her by the same name and beckoning for her with both hands, wanting the sounds against her belly to come back. After hearing Ezra's chuckle from afar, Aria's eyes darted at him, stunned and baffled all at once.

Ezra walked to them and grinned at Daisy, and suddenly, the joyful moment had gone after Aria swiftly got up and nervously handed Daisy back to him.

"Did you teach her to say that?" Aria asked him as they both faced each other.

"I—yes, but I—" He reluctantly let out as Daisy continued to babble on, saying the same word over and over again as if her life depended on it, and ironically enough, it did in a way. Aria shook her head in disbelief as she began to head off to the door. Ezra sighed and placed Daisy in her bouncy walker before chasing after Aria.

Thankfully, Ezra saw Aria stopping in her tracks and turning around to face him. "Aria—"

"Why would she say that?" Aria asked and looked at Ezra straight in the eyes. "Ezra, you can't—" She exhaled sharply. "You can't teach your child to say things like that. To make her believe in things like that." She said frustratedly while throwing her hand before her. "It's not right!"

"I can't teach my own daughter how to say mom?"

"Not when you make her think it's me! Why would you do that?" Aria snapped back. "Do you think _she_ would be happy to hear that? To have a daughter calling a stranger her mother. How could you do that to her? How do you think that would make her feel?"

"I was thinking _she'd_ be happy." Ezra retorted.

Aria furrowed her brow at him and began to shake her head disappointingly. She couldn't believe that he could do that to her, to his 'wife', to easily and willingly betray her with a woman he had only known for little months by teaching their own daughter to believe in things that weren't true. It was as if he was creating his own reality and by letting Daisy think that Aria was the mother perhaps he thought it would come true, but Aria couldn't accept that. It was wrong to let the baby grow into thinking that, and right then, she knew and was sure of it more than ever, that Ezra had more than feelings for her but that shouldn't mean that he had the right to give his child these false beliefs, she thought.

"You've lost it, Ezra." She breathed out. "I'm sorry, but you've completely lost your grip on reality."

Tilting his head to the side, Ezra looked at her with saddened eyes. "Aria…" He said as she took more steps closer to the door. "I'm sorry, please, I'm sorry, alright?" He said with a deep sigh. "I'm sorry, Aria. It was wrong, okay? You're right. I shouldn't have taught her that. It was a mistake." He was willing to say just about anything to make her forgive him.

Turning back around, Aria licked her lips and walked back to him. "Please listen to me when I say this." Aria said and reached for his hands, hoping he would understand her words. "Fall for anyone else." She said and squeezed his hands. "But please, please don't fall for me." She said even though by the looks he had given her, by the feelings he had felt for her, it was already too late, and she knew this a lot earlier. Even though it took everything for her to say it, she knew she had to set him straight. "I can't have you thinking that I'll feel the same for you. Because the truth is…I don't feel anything for you. I don't want to." She said as she let go of his hands, leaving him silent for quite a while.

"Does he make you happy?" Ezra asked before she could reach the doorknob.

Aria turned around and looked at him confusingly. "What?…"

"Wren." He swallowed hard.

Tilting her head to the side, Aria stared at him. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"Does he?" He repeated, his eyebrows drooping for a moment.

Quieting for a moment, Aria licked her lips before answering. "Yes, he does." She nodded. "Very much." She added and forced a smile for him.

His chest heaved deeply as Aria looked at him once more with such pitiful eyes before she opened the door to leave. And he didn't know what felt worse; her pitying him or her admitting her feelings for him that apparently never existed in the first place. No, something else had topped it all, he soon realized. Ezra saw that she really was not the same Aria that he had known for years. The woman who promised herself that she would never stop anyone from feeling anything. He knew this very well like the back of his hand; he knew this persona and he was familiar with it when she had told him about Wren's feelings for her and how she was fully aware of it, but she reassured Ezra that she would never leave him for Wren, or for anyone; but even with that said, she didn't stop Wren from liking her, from having such feelings for her, and that would always mean something for Ezra.

That was the kind of person Ezra knew and trusted, and admired to be quite honest. He was fully confident that Aria would never leave him for such trivial things. After the years of hiding and running away, the tribulations they had to face just to stay together, he and Aria agreed that there really wasn't anything that could tear them apart. Nothing else, in fact, seemed worthy enough for them to make them want to leave each other. But this, this hell, was something he never saw coming and if he had known it to be possible, he and Aria would have prepared better for it. Perhaps Aria was right; maybe he had been a little too trusting with her, and she with him, but sadly, it was ultimately both their fault. They were too comfortable, too unguarded with things - that they had underestimated everything else because of it.


	17. Chapter 17

**_Well the reviews have been definitely most entertaining but let me clear something up, someone said I wasn't an Ezria shipper because I'm writing such a sad story. I really hope they weren't being serious. The fact that I am dedicating my time to write a story about ARIA AND EZRA and not anybody else, I think pretty much contradicts your statement. I could write about Spencer and Toby, but because I LOVE Ezria and not Spoby, I write about them so it's kind of ridiculous to call me a non-Ezria shipper just because the story is depressing you...talk about impatience. _**

**_And if some of you don't want to read on because it's depressing then please feel free to leave, I'm not forcing you to read it, nobody is forcing you to read it. If you want fluff (I call it fluff because a story without conflicts is not a story) and I'm sure there are plenty of one-shots there waiting for you. I'd rather have patient and enduring readers than readers who are only looking for happy happy happy and no plot. _**

**_For those who are sticking with me, thank you. Pardon me for the rant, but it was needed._**

**_- Queen_**

* * *

_"Just take it, will you? You're being such a pain in the ass." He repeated for the third time, his eyes giving her a scolding look._

_Aria rolled her eyes and ignored the written check that was pinched between his fingers, already jutting out to her reach._

_"I can take care of myself." She argued as she continued to fold her clothes and subsequently placing them inside her luggage in an organized fashion. Aria had always found it a bit ironic and funny how she put so much effort into packing and keeping her belongings neat and tidy before flying off somewhere. And two weeks later, the discrepancy between her departure and arrival was easily noticeable each time she opened the luggage that seemed as if it had contained a completely different set of items compared to what she had before leaving._

_"Take the damn thing." Ezra insisted._

_Rolling her eyes, she continued to pack her bags. "I'm sure you enjoy feeling like my sugar daddy, but might I remind you that I have a job myself so…no thank you. Keep your dough, I'll be fine on my own."_

_"What's with the sudden change of lingo? Dough? Sugar daddy? Baby mama?" He squinted at her and she shot him a glare before she moved across the room to get her other pile of clothes right on top of the dresser._

_"It's two fucking weeks in Beijing, Ezra. Not a round trip to Europe." She said and finally turned to look at him. "And I am not your baby mama."_

_"But you are a pain in my ass." He quickly remarked as he ripped the check into halves._

He ran his palm over his sweaty forehead. "I wish you told me earlier." Ezra said to her, his tone of voice sounded like it wanted to get out of its cage and rip on Spencer for leaving the country, but he couldn't blame her for having a life and a job to maintain.

"I'm sorry. They sent me the ticket and told me it was urgent."

"How urgent can a travel journalist be?" He remarked with the hopes of his comment slightly offending her.

Spencer took a quiet deep, enduring breath while her hand covered the mouthpiece in case he caught the sound of her dismay. "This might be a good thing for us anyway." She said.

"How is this a good thing, Spencer?" He exhaled sharply and looked across the room where Daisy played with a bunch of toys inside her little plastic fence. "You're the only person she fully trusts and now you're in another continent. You—"

"Do you see? _This_ is why we need this. This…distance."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"We haven't gotten along since we came back. Maybe for a little bit, but everything else has gone to shit, have you noticed that?" She finally pointed out.

Ezra shut his eyes and shook his head. "Why do we matter?"

"Because we do. Aria would be…disappointed." She spoke softly. "She may have left us, but I don't want to have to think that you'd leave me too." She swallowed hard. "That's why we need this."

"Spencer, you mean to me just as much as you meant to her—mean to her." He licked his lips. "But right now, we just have to put ourselves aside and—"

"No, I know. I'm really sorry, Ezra." Spencer said softly. "Look, I didn't leave her empty-handed, if that takes off any of your worries. She'll be able to pay the rent until I get back."

"Knowing Aria, she wouldn't dare touch your money."

"Knowing _this_ Aria, she will." Spencer contested and immediately heard Ezra sighing from the other end of the line; for a second, she wondered if that was her brain playing mind tricks on her or did she really know Ezra that well that she could easily predict his reactions? "I'm sorry. How are you holding up? You sound tired."

"Hm." Ezra simply answered.

Admittedly, it had been days since he had a full night's sleep, but Spencer didn't need to know that; what would good would it do her anyway now that she was miles away from him? These sleepless nights were different than most nights where he only, not to say it didn't weigh as much, but only worried about Aria and Daisy, and the plotting of winning her back, but recently, his worries had been about whether or not he was going to have the talk with Wren, and even more so, how he was going to even initiate it. He argued with himself, thinking and predicting what would happen if that talk was to take place. And earlier, he had concluded that he would bring his daughter along; as a reminder that he couldn't do certain things to the man who betrayed him, however much he was allowed to or wanted and deserved to do those things.

_Aria nudged his arm, shaking it lightly. "C'mon…" She groaned. "It's your turn." She pointed out as she pressed her face harder into the pillow. Daisy's cry from the other side of the room had mushroomed over the space of their bedroom, surely loud enough to wake the tenants from the upper floor._

_Giving in, Ezra ran his hand over his face a couple of times before climbing out of bed. He made his way to her crib, still stuck in his trance and managed to carry and rock her while his eyes remained shut from sleepiness._

_"Shhh, shhh, what do you want, hmm? What is it?" He muttered against the side of her head._

_"The bottle's on top of the dresser." Aria mumbled out from behind, her voice covered in fatigue yet remained to sound properly dominant._

_Ezra followed her order, grabbed the bottle, and attempted to bring it to Daisy's lips before she shook it off away causing her to cry louder. "Shh, shh, you're gonna get us in trouble, honey." He said and gently rocked her again. After failing to calm her down, Ezra moved her to his other arm as the other quickly became exhausted from the weight and the shaking. He brought up his thumb as Daisy wrapped her tiny fingers around it, hugging and sucking on it._

_Letting out a sleepy chuckle, Ezra looked down at her and felt a sense of relief washing over him as Daisy gradually grew quiet, seemingly content with his thumb._

"She's busy?" Ezra asked over the phone and sighed heavily.

"Sorry, man. She just left for a preparation class and won't be back 'til late afternoon." Hardy replied. "But she's free tonight."

Ezra shut his eyes and paced back and forth with Daisy in his arms. "It's alright." He reassured as he glanced at his daughter. "I'll call up someone else. Thanks, Hardy." He added before hanging up.

Checking the clock on his nightstand, Ezra huffed out another breath at the sight of the time. It was eight in the morning which left him at least an hour to get to work, if he could even find a sitter for Daisy. He tossed the phone on the bed and turned his full attention to Daisy. "Last resort, hmm?" He commented as he pressed his lips against her warm forehead.

"Hey…" She greeted softly as the door separated them.

Ezra swallowed hard. "I'm sorry…I just—I really need someone to…" He exhaled sharply, finding it hard to ask for a favor knowing that he and Aria got off on the wrong foot the other day.

"It's fine. I can look after her." Aria forced a smile and reached for Daisy, taking her into her arms.

He licked his lips as he handed her the supply bag. "Thank you." He told her and paused for a moment. "Aria, I'm sorry about the—"

"Don't be. I might have…blown it out of proportion." She admitted.

"Doesn't make it right either way." He pressed on and kept his soft eyes on her while she nodded submissively.

"You should get going if you don't wanna be late." Aria smiled at him as Daisy remained calm, her head resting on Aria's shoulder and her arms tucked in.

_"Nice!" Wren commented as they entered the new apartment. "Now, why couldn't I have had this when I moved here? How many rooms?"_

_Ezra grinned widely. "Two, but there's a smaller room which can only be counted for as half. I haven't thought of what to do with that one yet either..."_

_"Turn it into a darkroom. She'd love it, wouldn't she?" Wren added as Ezra turned back to look at him for a moment, but Wren was too busy studying the apartment. "Might I also add, she is not going to enjoy looking at that yellow on the wall." He pointed out._

_It was a bit funny hearing Wren's certainty of what would make Aria happy. Ezra furrowed his brow at the idea that his friend was attempting to act as if he knew all about the girl. In spite of that, he always appreciated Wren's kindness and service unto them. But he was also aware that most of the things Wren did was meant for Aria as a way to get on her good side, to win her over per se, so how could he possibly hate on someone who made the love of his life happy?_

_Shaking off the thought, Ezra walked to the empty living room. "I gotta unload some stuff." Ezra informed his friend._

_Wren placed his hands on his waist. "When's she coming back?"_

_"In a few hours."_

_"Wha—" Wren let out, surprised. "No shit?"_

_"Yeah, no shit." Ezra repeated._

_"You've barely got anything in this place."_

_"Yeah, that's why we better get going."_

Aria offered a smile as he entered the apartment. "Change of plans. We have a small visitor." She told him, indicating Daisy who was dangling by her waist, her legs wrapped around Aria and her small hands gripping on her shirt.

"Oh—" Wren slowly nodded and simply greeted Daisy with a reluctant smile.

"Come on in. I'll fix us up something. Fix us up some leftovers." Aria joked. "Hold her for a second?" She asked and handed Daisy to Wren without hesitance before proceeding to the kitchen.

Swallowing hard, Wren carried Daisy carefully. "Umm…" He let out as Daisy stared blankly at him.

"Do you prefer pancakes or waffles?" Aria shouted from the kitchen.

"Uhh, I'm alright!" He shouted back and headed for the living room. "Here we are." He exhaled softly and settled Daisy on the couch. Glancing down at her, Wren studied her rosy cheeks and was a bit taken aback by how quiet she was, for a baby at least. He furrowed his brow and reached over and pressed the back of his hand against her forehead. Raising his eyebrows, he turned to look back before carrying Daisy again.

"Food will be ready in a few. The burner takes a while to heat up. I gotta tell the landlord about that. Remind me." Aria said as she joined them in the living room.

"We need to get Daisy to the hospital."

"What? Why?" Aria asked with wide eyes. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"She's got a high fever." He replied and held Daisy closer to his body.

Ezra sat on the corner of the desk. "It talks about getting over something. The death of the beggar was the epitome of that, but the people around him never got over it." He discussed. "So, let's open up the forum. Do you ever really get over something? Thoughts? Opinions? You know, we always hear about someone breaking up with their girlfriend or boyfriend and there's always that friend who tells you that you'll get over it. Is that a good thing or…" He opened up and waited until someone from the class grew enough courage to speak up. "Go ahead." He pointed at the student who had his hand raised.

"Yeah, I think it's good. Getting over something is necessary…at least you should try to get over whatever it is you're trying to get over, right?" The student explained.

"That's true. But personally, I would never want to get over something. You should never want to forget or pretend to act like something in your life never happened."

"But I wouldn't want to get stuck up on it and not move on." Another student jumped in.

"People can't move on while not getting over something? Are we saying that humans can't do both?" Ezra questioned.

"No, you can't really move on if you aren't over something. That's the point, right?" The same student chimed in.

"Hmm, I wouldn't think necessarily. You shouldn't want to get over something just to move on. You can accept it. Forgive it. Remember it, but don't get over it. It's a little ungrateful, isn't it?" He continued on. "The people in the story never got over the beggar despite the fact that he was only a beggar, and in return, that act of dwelling made them very…human. They set up memorials, they wrote stories of him, they would have named their first-born after him! They didn't...for those who didn't read." He pointed vaguely at the students. "And…I say…fuck getting over things." He grinned widely as the students laughed softly. "That's all for today." He concluded as he got up from the desk.

He grabbed his messenger bag and took out his phone, seeing a missed call and a few text messages from Aria. Ezra furrowed his brow at the messages because not once did she ever call or text him during work.

Aria ran her fingers through her hair and pressed her lips together, trying to keep calm.

"She'll be alright." Wren informed her as he walked toward a crying Daisy, her face red as ever and eyes filled with terror due to the unfamiliar surrounding.

"Where is she?" Ezra's voice entered the room and instantly, the curtains opened up. His chest heaved at the sight of Wren near Daisy, but he knew that there were better things to deal with at the moment. Daisy's hands instinctively went up toward Ezra, beckoning for him.

"Ezra." Aria sighed out as Wren turned around as quickly as possible, unaware that Aria had called Ezra up. "Her temperature's gotten lower and Wren gave her some medicine." Aria reassured him.

"It's okay, honey. Dada's here, see? I'm here, I'm here, buggy." Ezra rocked her back and forth and pulled back to kiss her on her forehead and cheeks. "Shhh, it's okay—" He muttered as Daisy's cry continued on.

Wren wiped his forehead and bit his lower lip. "Call me if you need anything else." He whispered to Aria and she lightly grabbed him by the arm.

"I'm sorry this day didn't turn out the way you wanted it to." She smiled remorsefully.

With a shrug, Wren smiled at her. "No, be thankful it did or else the little girl wouldn't be here getting taken care of." He hesitantly looked at Ezra and saw him gazing back at him, and to his surprise, Ezra was not darting him a glare or worse, spewing everything that would put an end to him and Aria. He hoped although it was definitely a wishful thinking that Ezra was at least thankful for what he did for his daughter and by the look on his face, it seemed that he was - for now.

Spencer looked around the room and killed some time by trying to recall the moments that had occurred in the very same place many months ago.

"I've been meaning to ask about your friend. How is she coping?" London or Graham as he would prefer to be called; the man Spencer thought she would never see again, and she did originally plan on keeping that promise, but something had changed her mind and now she found herself sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at him as he walked over, carrying a silver tray of morning tea.

"She's—" Spencer twitched a smile for him. "She's recovering. She's a quick learner." She smiled again, more reluctant this time.

"I would presume so, seeing how you're here and she's there." Graham pointed out.

Spencer raised her eyebrows for a second. "Yeah." She simply said as she took a cup, taking a casual sip of it.

Examining her face, Graham nitpicked the little scrunches and the distant feeling she had been giving him. He remembered her the opposite when they had first met and right off the bat, he knew she had something in her mind that she was dying to tell him.

"Spencer, mind telling me why you came back? Surely you did not travel thousands of miles away from home just to have…this—" He gestured around the apartment, implying their short-term affair. "…Again, yes?"

Rolling her head to the side, Spencer pressed her lips together and shook her head. "Right."

"Then why?" He questioned once more.

Spencer peered at him over the cup of tea that was a couple of inches away from her lips. With a shrug, she took another sip of the bland tea. It wasn't that she didn't know because truthfully, somewhere in her, she knew exactly why she came back, she just wanted to be certain that that was it and even more, she wanted to wait and see if he wanted the same. After witnessing what had happened to her best friend, Spencer contemplated the permanency of life and if lucky, a life with someone she loved or could grow to love. In spite of all the hardship, she had come to accept that she wanted what Ezra and Aria had - the solidity of one another and if Ezra was still keen on Aria after the accident, that he was willing to battle it out even if the years they had together was gone for Aria then perhaps Spencer's concept of perpetuity with anything or anyone must have meant so much more than she had estimated. That was why she came to Graham; she wanted stability with him. Flying to different places, meeting different faces, sleeping in different beds was a lifestyle that was not meant to last and perhaps Spencer had learned something about herself that she should have had a long time ago; she wasn't the type to dwell on things that didn't last, if she were, she never would have managed to keep her friendship with Aria even after its unexpected restart.

"I should go." Aria announced and Ezra picked his head up in response.

Nodding lightly, Ezra watched her flash a sympathetic smile that was meant to wish Daisy well as the baby finally fell asleep on the hospital bed, drained from crying. Ezra did not take his eyes off of Aria and he could see her meeting with Wren just outside the room. Tilting his head to the side, he observed their interaction, noticing Aria's little mouth curling up for a smile as Wren placed his hand on her lower back and finally off they went completely out of Ezra's sight.

Finally giving his attention to Daisy, he got up and leaned in closer to her face. "If you leave, I leave." He whispered and gave Daisy a kiss on the forehead. "Because what else am I good for if not for you, huh?" Ezra pulled back and ran his eyes over Daisy's face.

Time would take care of it, Ezra thought. Time and opportunities and a little push from himself were all he needed, but seeing how things had been with Daisy, his priorities had been nothing but her. It was the promise he was determined to keep.

Loud sirens interrupted their conversation and Aria furrowed her brow and followed the firetruck's trail with her eyes. Wren's car pulled to the side as the firetruck blocked the whole street with the bystanders looking around in curiosity.

"What in the world happened?" Aria muttered as she quickly got out of the car. She glanced up and saw smokes coming out of a window from someone's apartment. Aria gasped softly at the image and took quick strides, joining the bystanders, one of which was the landlord and the landlord's wife. "What's going on?" She asked as soon as she got closer to the landlord's wife.

She was an old stocky white lady and her eyes widened at the sight of Aria. "Oh, honey, it's alright—we were trying to contact you. We were worried you were inside!"

"What do you mean?" Aria uttered and glanced back at the smokes, realizing what she had done. "Oh fuck—" She suddenly let out, surprising the lady beside her and surprising even herself from hearing her say the word that came out on its own. Turning around, she met Wren's worried gaze before lifting her eyes back at the fire that had started from her own stove.

_"You're gonna kill us both!" He exclaimed and immediately placed his hands on his hips as he let out a sharp breath._

_Drawing her head back, Aria took the keys out of the front door before going inside Ezra's small studio apartment. "What is it this time?" Aria asked, dragging her words slowly. Ezra clenched his jaw and stepped aside as his hand gestured at the kitchen just several feet away. "Yes?" Aria lowered her eyebrows at him and the kitchen._

_"The stove, Aria." He pointed out. "This is the second time. You're gonna get me kicked out of this building and shit deep in bills. I don't know if you're aware of this, but those 911 calls aren't free."_

_Aria tilted her head at him and glared at him. "You don't have to be so fucking condescending."_

_"No, I do just so you can understand what I've been trying to tell you." He continued. "You have to double check before leaving the apartment because one of these days, you're gonna hurt someone or worse you're gonna end up hurting yourself." Ezra licked his lips and scoffed._

_"I'm sorry, okay? Please, don't be angry." She let out as her eyebrows lowered tamely and her doe eyes gazing at him._

_"I'm not angry and don't do that, alright?" Ezra responded, implying her sudden change of voice and face._

_Approaching him, Aria couldn't help but smile softly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She pleaded in a low volume as she tiptoed to kiss him. "Never again."_

_"Oh, you better be sure about that. Next time I'll throw your things in there and tell the firemen it was an accident."_

_"That seems a little unfair." She grinned._

_"Where'd you go anyway? You know...before you tried to burn this place down." He threw a hand up._

_Aria shrugged and gave him another peck on the lips. "Wren needed help with his research." She told him as Ezra squinted his eyes at her. "Now, you don't get to do that."_

_"Do what?"_

_"Look at me like I slept with the guy." She pointed out as her head tilted to one side._

_"I wasn't looking at you like that." He responded with poor conviction._

_"Then how would you describe that squint?"_

_"I'd…describe it as…" He copied her shrug. "Guy's got six years ahead of you, I expected him to have a little more knowledge in general."_

_"More knowledge than me, you mean?" She asked with a cocked eyebrow._

_"Well…" Ezra kept his eyes locked with hers. "...Yes."_

_Aria scoffed at the comment. "Okay, asshole." She retorted before storming off. "You know, for a teacher, you say some really stupid stuff!" She shouted as her voice trailed away._

_Letting out a huff, Ezra shook his head. "Well, good thing I'm not a teacher!" He shouted back at her. "I'm...Professor Fitz." He whispered under his breath and wondered for a second how she turned everything around and made him look like the bad guy at the end of the day._


	18. Chapter 18

_**oscar1415: My one question is how old are Aria and Ezra?  
- Ezra in early 30s, Aria in late 20s.**_

_**Thank you for the reviews and apologies for the long wait. - Queen**_

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Emily chuckled as she waited for her client to catch up to her. "Perhaps this teaches you not to be late for our meetings." She commented with a grin as she slowly jogged backwards.

"That wasn't my fault!" The client panted and paused to catch her breath.

"Let me guess, traffic?" Emily rolled her eyes as the client nodded. "Let me take another guess, car accident?" She added sarcastically.

"No, a firetruck and an ambulance."

"A firetruck and an ambulance crashed? I don't know if that's ironic or…appropriate." Emily commented.

"No, some apartment building caught on fire then came the traffic." She clarified. "The one time I take Reynolds street…" She grumbled.

"The one near—" Emily's eyebrows arched up and stopped herself from continuing.

"Can we please reserve the last mile for tomorrow? I promise I'll be on time." The client begged. "My body is not adapted to seven-mile runs!"

Emily glanced around before taking a good look at the client's reddened face. "You know what? I think we're good for today." She said before jogging back.

_"It was my fault." Aria informed her friend over the phone. "I'm such—"_

_"Aria, darling, stop alright? It was an accident." Wren reassured. "Look, I'll take care of it, yeah? Would you let me do that?"_

_"No. No, Wren, I won't let you do that." Aria countered solidly._

_"You're gonna need another place to stay, won't you?" He questioned, hoping this would conversation would follow the direction he wanted it to. "I don't have a spare room, but I would happily give up mine if you'd like to stay over and I swear on my mother's grave, I will try to be a gentleman as much as possible even with the full knowledge of you sleeping in my bed." He joked._

_"That's very thoughtful of you, but I'm okay. I'll be staying at Spencer's while they fix the apartment."_

_With his shoulders slumping, Wren nodded to himself and proceeded to ask more questions. "Did they give you a time? When can you come back there?"_

_"They didn't. A few weeks, I'm assuming."_

_"A few weeks? See, there…that doesn't sound so bad."_

_"I feel like an idiot."_

_"You're not so don't."_

_Heaving a deep breath, Aria shut her eyes. "Anyway, I have to make a stop at the bank." She sighed out._

_"Don't hesitate to call me if you ever need anything."_

_"I won't. See you soon?"_

_"Sure. Try not to burn down anything else on your way." He quipped and stifled his chuckle in the back of his throat, but Aria remained quiet. "Too soon?"_

_"A little."_

_"Oh, babe, don't be so glum. Honestly, it isn't as bad as you think it is." He comforted before hearing another goodbye from her that was soon followed by the dial tone._

Aria leaned forward, covering her face for a moment until someone's footsteps began to near causing her to pick her head up again.

"That's the last of it." The landlord said, extending a bag for her to take.

"Thank you." Aria offered a quick smile as she took the bag with her belongings that survived the fire. Reaching from her back pocket, she took out a check for two grand, leaving her with a little over two hundred bucks in the savings. "Here's the—" She reluctantly said as her hand gestured for the check.

The landlord took it, skimming it over before giving her a nod. "Just give us a month and a half and you should be good to go."

Her mouth dropped open but she had closed it as soon as possible, hoping to hide her shock from the old man in front of her. Two hundred bucks wouldn't last her two weeks let alone a month.

"A month? That's…a lot longer than I expected." Aria ultimately admitted as she swallowed hard, letting the news settle in.

"If you want, apartment 311 is vacant although it won't come for free. This is only if you haven't found a place to stay within this week. I'm not sure how long the apartment will be free."

"No, no, it's fine. I'm all set." Aria excused. "Save the apartment for someone else." She offered a sweet smile as the landlord nodded. "Thank you anyway." Aria concluded and offered another tight smile which quickly disappeared as soon as the landlord walked away. Sighing, she leaned against the wall and eventually sat on the floor, covering her face with both hands, contemplating her next move. After a while, her ears perked up at the sound of footsteps approaching the hallway. She looked up and saw his face and the back of baby Daisy's head.

"Is everything okay over there?" Ezra questioned and walked over to her. "I heard about…" He glanced at her apartment door.

"Yeah, yeah. Everything's alright." Aria instantly answered, attempting to sound cheerful. "Nothing that can't be fixed." She feigned a smile.

Ezra moved his mouth to the side, pondering for a second. "And you? Are you okay?"

"Mhm-mhm." She nodded with flickering eyes as she hooked her thumbs into the waistline of her jeans.

"Have you got a place to stay? I mean, if you don't mind my asking—"

"Spencer's." She said without much hesitance.

"Ah. Is her place nearby?" Ezra asked as Aria looked back at him quizzically. "I didn't mean to pry…I was just thinking earlier—" He cleared his throat. "I was wondering if it was possible for you to stay at my place." He admitted. "For Daisy, essentially. She needs you…while I'm at the university. We've got an extra room for you. All amenities available, free of charge as always." He smiled crookedly and with charm.

"I'm sorry, Ezra." Aria let out softly. "But I think you're gonna have to look for a new sitter. Spencer's place is nearly an hour away and I'm not exactly qualified to drive yet…"

And as if things couldn't get worse, he was forced to accept this. He saw it to be one of the possibilities when he was leaving the hospital, but he truly hoped it wouldn't be her final decision, he had hoped he could convince her to stay, but now, she was about to be further away from him; a concept Ezra didn't believe to be probable but somehow, it was and was now actually taking place.

"Well, I guess you're right." Ezra simply added and pressed his lips together. "Are you leaving right away?"

"In a few minutes actually." She revealed and gestured at the bags near the wall. Watching his face skim over the bags, Aria could see that this was devastating him far more than she knew why. "So, how's the little girl? Has she recovered from the fever?" Aria quickly asked, derailing the previous subject.

"Oh, yes. She's sleeping it off now actually." Ezra quipped. "I suppose your time with her at the hospital will be the last time since she is going to be sleeping through your soon to be farewell." He smiled softly.

Smiling sadly, Aria ambled her way to him. "Not exactly. Only until the apartment gets fixed." She reminded him. "It's not like I'm going away forever." Aria told him with a reassuring smile while brushing her hand over Daisy's back slowly.

"So, you'll come back?" Ezra asked, wanting to hear the words out of her own mouth and wanting it to mean something else.

"I'll come back." Aria whispered as she leaned down to give Daisy a light kiss.

Looking up, Aria met his eyes and surprised herself at the little distance between them, faces inches away, and all eyes lingering upon one another, quietly exchanging their goodbyes. Slowly, she tiptoed and gave him a light goodbye kiss on the mouth, so light that it reminded him of a mere puff of smoke, or a breath during winter, but even with such vestige of a kiss, he felt it full and enough to last him until the very next moment that he had hoped where they would kiss again, but this time, it would be the kiss that would define all kiss, the kiss that would welcome her back into his life - their life, showing and proving to her that this was where she was meant to be, that this was the kiss and the only kiss that she was meant to be giving, to him and only him.

The ringing from her purse brought him back from his pensive trance, allowing himself to step back and wait for her while she checked her phone.

"Is that your ride?" He chimed in, breaking the silence.

"Yes, it is."

"Do you need help carrying the bags?"

"Don't worry, Wren's coming up to get 'em."

Furrowing his brow, Ezra compelled himself to stifle the sneer that was dying to form on his lips. As he watched Aria grab her bags from the floor, he wondered what the kiss meant for her. How swiftly she recovered from it without much reaction seemed as if it didn't mean anything to her at all, of course other than it being a friendly kiss, nothing but a farewell kiss that one would similarly give to visiting relatives or new acquaintances.

"I'll see you soon?" Ezra brought up, wanting to head back to his apartment, knowing that the sight of Wren would set him off and he wouldn't be able to control himself especially if he saw Wren's face which Ezra could only imagine would be filled with self-righteousness due to the fact that Wren had the chance to take care of Daisy while Ezra was away.

"Will do." Aria replied as she kept her back turned to him.

Ezra swallowed hard and gave one last look at her before trailing off. After listening in on the fading footsteps, Aria paused for a moment as she brought up her hand to her lips, searching for the trace that his kiss had left on hers. She shook her head at herself, debating with her own conscience and wondering why she had felt no signs of guilt whatsoever.

_She kept her knees planted on the bed and her palms pressed against the pillow, trapping his head._

_"Mmm…" Ezra sighed out before chuckling softly at the sight of Aria's hair all over her face. Moving the strands away, he cupped the side of her face and pulled her closer for a kiss._

_As Aria prepared to roll over, the sound of Ezra's ringtone had interrupted her next move._

_"Just let it go." Aria panted against his mouth and let out a soft yelp as Ezra swiftly rolled her over while she kept her eyes shut. Feeling the weight of his body getting lighter, Aria opened her eyes and saw him reaching for the nightstand where the phone rested. "Let it go, Ezra." She repeated._

_"Might be an emergency." He defended. "Nobody ever calls at this hour."_

_"Because it's the fucking middle of the night." She pointed out as her hands wrapped around his neck, attempting to pull him down with her, but he resisted. Sighing, Aria gave up and irritatedly pushed him off of her._

_"I'm just checking who it is!" Ezra told her as he shifted his body comfortably on his side of the bed. "It's Wren." He informed her as confusion masked his face._

_"Wren? Why the hell would he be calling you? Especially at this hour?" Aria inquired, her eyebrows almost as low as his._

_Ezra turned to look at her and smirked. "Aww, is somebody jealous? I'm willing to share." He joked and gave her a wink._

_"Shut up. What makes you think I want any part of you and Wren's little affair?"_

_"Hey, don't knock it 'til you try it. You ever had an English man?" He asked as he waited for an answer. "Yeah, didn't think so. You'd be surprised. The walks in the park, watching the sunset, sharing tea and crumpet. He and I can get pretty bromantic." He teased._

_Rolling her eyes, Aria moved to her side and pulled the blanket up to cover her naked body. "I am going to sleep and pretend you never said that and maybe in the morning, I'll wake up still liking you."_

_"You'll always like me." He commented as he casually dialed Wren's number._

"I come bearing pastries." Emily greeted as she gestured at the ceramic plate in her hands.

Laughing softly, Ezra shook his head at her. "Trainer by day, fiend by night." He remarked as she stepped inside.

"Hey now, these happen to still be low fat and gluten-free." Emily defended with a wide grin.

"What's the occasion?" He asked while they both walked to the dining room with Ezra automatically setting up something for her to drink.

"No occasions. I just wanted to check up on my new friends." She shrugged lightly. "And my mom taught me never to come empty handed when visiting…so once again, credits to my mom for the gesture. How many is that now? Two? Three?"

"I have got to meet your mother. She sounds like a great woman." He smiled back.

"Oh, I think things are already a little too messy around here. We don't need to add any more drama by bringing my innocent mother into this. " Emily joked and saw the little scrunch Ezra did with his face as if she had offended him or confused him for a moment. "I didn't mean for that to sound—"

"Don't worry about it." He cut in and gave her a reassuring smile.

"A little bird told me…or directed me to the path and I just happened to follow the trail which led me to the incident with the apartment and here." Emily brought up as she carefully took a seat.

Ezra approached her with a glass of iced tea. "So _that's_ the real reason why you came." He noted and Emily stayed quiet, proving him even more right.

"I got curious."

"You mean, you want to help?"

"Sure."

"That was meant as a rhetorical question." Ezra smiled at her. "And Aria, as shocking as it may seem, is actually handling everything herself."

"So…where is she?" Emily questioned and grabbed her drink in front of her.

"I don't know." Ezra answered, getting a look from Emily. "What?" He muttered and furrowed his brow at the look she was giving him.

Scoffing to herself, Emily got up. "You don't k—-forget it."

"No, no, tell me." Ezra took a step back to stay in front of her.

Emily held a moment of silence before shrugging once again. "It just seems like you don't care." Emily claimed as she stared right at him. "Like you don't care about her…where she is…who she's with."

"Are you kidding?" He let out.

Emily studied his face for a moment before giving a shrug. "Forget I said anything." She quickly dismissed, not wanting to place him in a bad mood so she began to walk again.

"No. No." He countered and followed her. "You just don't get it." Ezra said solidly, making her turn around to face him once more.

"Don't get what? That—"

"I care!" He threw his hand before him, his voice loud enough to reach the corridor all the way to the front door. "I care so much that all I want is for her to be happy!" He explained without lowering down his voice.

Emily breathed deeply. "Maybe that's your problem." She pointed out. "You wanna see her so happy that you're willing to let her be with someone else."

"You think I enjoy seeing that?" He chimed in.

"So why are you letting it happen?!" Emily shouted back, surprising him for a second. "Right. Because she's happy." She scoffed again as Ezra stared at her quietly. Pausing for quite a moment, Emily tilted her head to the side. "But what about you, Ezra?" She asked softly. "Are you seriously telling yourself that you're so in love with her that you're just going to give her away? To someone who least deserves her, by the way. Because you think that's what makes her happy? And if she's happy, you somehow also think that you must be doing something right, is that it? Because if it is then I think you're getting your love mixed up with something else." She explained before pausing for a breath.

"And what might that be?" He retorted a bit sarcastically.

"…You think being self-less is the same as love. It's not." Emily shook her head at him. "If you're really in love with someone, you wouldn't share them with anybody else."

"You can say all these things, Emily." Ezra shook his head. "But you're never going to understand how it really feels." He told her solidly as she responded by walking past him.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Emily turned around to face him. "The thing is, I do understand." She added.

"How?" He remarked.

"Because I wanted to be selfish with you." She admitted. "When I first saw you with Daisy, that moment…just felt right." She continued as Ezra looked at her curiously. "Then you told me about Aria and I realized that you and I were never going to happen because—" She glanced down and shook her head as if trying to shake off the memory that was playing in her head when she had first set her eyes on him. "Because you already had her." She let out a faint breath. "I thought you did anyway."

"I'm sorry." Ezra simply said.

"No, I am. For ruining your night." Emily replied.

"You didn't." He reassured and took a moment to deeply breathe in. "Do you really have to go? Or was that just for dramatic effect?" He asked as a timid smile slowly curled on his face.

Taking two tea cups from Spencer's cupboard, Aria began to pour some in both cups and adding some milk in hers while leaving Wren's untouched as he went outside to attend to a phone call.

With the sound of the front gently closing, Aria carried both cups and moved to the nearest table. "Tea's ready. Did you want milk in yours?" She asked casually, but had failed to receive any responses from him. "Wren?" Aria asked once again and turned around, seeing Wren looking distraught. "What's the matter?" She walked up to him as he picked his head up and finally looked back at her.

"That was my sister." He let out hesitantly.

"Is she okay?" Aria's eyes danced back and forth, trying to study Wren's face.

"Why would she do that?" He slowly licked his lips and remained quiet. "Why would she do that?!" He whispered to himself, in disbelief and a bit enraged.

"Wren, please tell me what's going on. You're worrying me." Aria told him.

Bringing his hand up to rub his face, he raised his devastated eyes and finally looked at Aria before speaking. "My mum's killed herself." He revealed, causing Aria to freeze for a moment before she took him in for an embrace as Wren buried his face in her arms.

"I'm sorry." Aria breathed out and felt him tightening his hold around her. "I'm so sorry." She repeated, her words overlapping his muffled cry.

Wren shut his eyes as tightly as possible and pulled away. Looking fully at Aria, he wondered if this was his bad karma for what he was doing to Aria and to Ezra, even to himself. His mother had always told him - raised him to be the person that she wanted to be proud of, to be the kind who picked the right choices in life. And now, Wren felt as though she had betrayed him for doing this to him, her kids and especially to her husband. He could see his father now, in a worse condition than anybody else for he had outlived his wife, and that some part of him was now questioning her motives and another part was blaming himself for it. But the worst part of it all was accepting the fact that he had just lost someone who knew him better than he knew himself.

Aria breathed softly as she cupped the side of Wren's face. "It'll be okay, I promise." She began to say and nodded in attempt to nurse him back to something close to comfort.

"I can't be here." Wren said under his breath.

"What does that mean—"

"I just-I gotta…I gotta think." Wren swallowed. "I'm sorry." He lowered his eyebrows at her and shook his head, contemplating for a moment before turning around to leave.

"Wren—" Aria called out and sighed and followed him, desiring to know what he was going to do next and whatever it was, she merely hoped that she would be there to join him, to be of support of any kind because she, out of all people, knew quite well how devastating it was to lose someone so close to heart.


	19. Chapter 19

**_Thank you thank you for the reviews. Also, there's only one more chapter left! Thank you for sticking with me._**

**_to WTRGAL01: yes, by that loss, I meant her family. :)_**

**_- Queen_**

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_Wren pressed his hand against her calf, applying pressure there. "From one to ten, how bad is it?" He questioned, noticing that the cut had stopped from its bleeding._

_"I'm assuming ten being most painful, right?" Aria quipped as she slightly tried to sit up to check her wound._

_"Yes, that's what I meant." He grinned._

_"Ten…could have been nine, but your vagueness made it worse." Aria joked once again._

_Aria examined his focused eyes before sitting up completely - the motion painful enough for her to clench her jaw, but all the while moving her leg away from his hand. "I got it." She quickly chimed in as casually as possible hoping he would take no offense. "It isn't so bad anymore." She fibbed, offering Wren a forced smile as he replied with a small, submissive nod while handing her the cloth. "Sorry for taking you away from your class." Aria added as she reached down and wiped around the cut carefully._

_"Oh, I'd much rather do this than apply catheter on a—"_

_"Yes, catheters, right. Let's…not get into details please." She cut him off and smiled sweetly._

_Wren laughed softly then checked his wristwatch for a moment. "Don't you have a class too?"_

_"Not on Fridays." Aria grinned. "And Ezra's stopping by, well, he gets out at noon…" Looking around, she spotted the clock. "And it's already 11:20. Perfect. You wanna stay for lunch?" She offered, to compensate or thank him for coming over and bringing in the first aid kit._

_"Sure, I could use a bite." Wren answered, feeling a dissatisfaction from all of this, and he could only hope - he seemed to be doing a lot of that these days - that his staying would get rid of that inscrutable sense. He would have thought that staying away from her would be best, but he knew that if he had done the opposite, he would just end up imagining the things he could be doing to her, things he wanted to do to her, and that was worse than anything; an empty conscious dream, a desperate lustful scenarios in his head that he knew would never come true for as long as Ezra was around._

She counted and endured the past three days where she and Wren had not made any form of contact with each other. It seemed as though this was the perfect time to be consoling him and she wanted to play that part, to finally help someone out when it had always been the other way around. It would give her something to do, but coming to a realization, Aria accepted the fact that Wren was not comfortable with the idea or so she thought, perhaps he didn't want her to see him vulnerable, but another theory, a more bitter theory, was that maybe Wren did not think Aria was close enough to him that he would allow her to partake in any of his problem. Fidgeting with the phone, Aria dialed his number once more only for it to go straight to voicemail. She sighed and got up from the couch and was distracted by the sound coming from the front door.

"Spencer?" Aria let out, her eyebrows arched with surprise while simultaneously opening the door for her friend. "I thought you were—"

"I heard about the apartment." Spencer quickly informed as she dragged her luggage in.

"How?"

Through Ezra, she would have answered, but instead Spencer tilted her head at her - treating the question as irrelevant. "Does it matter?" She sighed heavily. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Who told you?" Aria answered with a flicker of her eyes. She shook her head for a moment, still unable to take in the fact that her best friend was suddenly back. "You didn't have to, Spencer. Everything's alright, honestly."

"Are you sure?" Spencer asked once again.

"_Yes!_" Aria snapped back, receiving a look from Spencer. "Don't look at me like that."

Furrowing her brow, Spencer stared intently at her friend. "Aria—"

Aria threw her hands. "You look at me like a I'm a kid. Let's be honest, that's why you're back. Don't say it isn't—" She pointed out. Aria did see the doubt in Spencer's eyes, and she hated feeling helpless, hated it even more when she was being pitied. "I don't need that right now. I don't need it from anybody else, especially not from you. Not right now, okay?" Aria retorted. "If you came here to take your apartment back, take it." She huffed to herself as she beelined for the bedroom to get her belongings.

"Where the hell is this coming from?" Spencer exclaimed, following her friend's trail leading to the bedroom. "Where are you going?" Spencer asked as she watched Aria pack her stuff. "Aria, you're overreacting. I didn't say or indicate anything. I came back to help. Is it suddenly a crime that a friend wants to help out another friend?" Spencer crossed her arms above her chest. "Or is there something else going on because you can tell me, you know?" She went on and finally relaxed when she saw Aria's shoulders slump and her hands letting go of her belongings.

"No, I can't…I can't tell you." Aria countered, looking at Spencer softly. "We'll just end up fighting more."

"What makes you think that?" Spencer stepped closer. "Look, you don't need to be embarrassed with me or keep secrets from me, Aria. You know this."

"You don't like him." Aria admitted and turned around to zip her bag. Facing her friend yet again, Aria shook her head. "For some reason, you just don't. I don't know what it is you have against Wren, or what you're not telling me…but I'm so tired of it, Spence." She paused for a breath. "And if anybody's keeping secrets, it's you."

_Trailing a few kisses down the back of her neck, Ezra leaned in and glanced at her phone. "Who's that?" He asked casually as he kissed her once more._

_"Is it strange that he hasn't made contact with us for what…almost a month now?" Aria pointed out as she put her phone away and placed her attention back to the fresh fruits in front of her._

_"He…"_

_"Wren." She replied as she turned around and carefully a bag of assorted fruits into their cart. "I've been leaving him messages since this morning. He hasn't answered once."_

_Ezra arched his eyebrows for a fleeting moment as he grabbed the shopping cart with Daisy sitting in her infant seat. "You should probably leave him alone. Guy's got a life of his own, you know?"_

_"Since when?"_

_"Since you came out with this little rascal." Ezra faced Daisy and scrunched his face jokingly at his daughter as her small mouth twitched, her weakest attempt of a smile._

_"What are you implying?" Aria stepped closer to him._

_Turning to face her, Ezra studied her eyes for a moment, testing the waters. "I didn't know I was implying anything." He simply stated and moved away._

_"Of course you were. That was your I'm-implying-something-here tone." Aria argued._

_Ezra chuckled and shook his head. Finally turning to face her, he tilted his head to the side. "Look, bug, some guys just get nervous near babies. Maybe Wren's one of those guys."_

_"That's ridiculous." Aria commented. "He's a doctor. He's supposed to mesh well with all kinds of people." She added._

_Ezra simply shrugged. "There are different kinds of doctors, you are aware of that, aren't you babe? Wren's not exactly a pediatrician. I'm a professor, but you don't see me teaching math, do you?" He finally said before rolling the cart forward, ready to go to the other aisle._

_"Why would you? You hate math." Aria rolled her eyes before slowly changing her face for a moment - a moment of realization that she immediately shook off, telling herself how foolish it seemed that Wren, a friend who had been nothing but kind and gentleman to her would suddenly despise her first child. She couldn't find a good reason or at least she didn't want to think that it would be reason for someone to project their hate on someone else, someone innocent especially. It was too inhumane and Aria refused to believe that Wren resembled that kind of poor quality._

"Still holding up. Nothing you need to worry about." Ezra reassured while Daisy and her grandmother bonded over a packet of chewy candies.

"Well, I hope whatever it is you have that you do not want to share with me—which is fine, you have your rights seeing as you're not a little boy anymore…but I just want you to take your time." She smiled softly, indicating her eagerness to be spending some alone time with her grand daughter.

Ezra nodded and watched them, believing this to be necessary not only for the good of his daughter's relationship with her grandmother but also his relationship with his own mother. Last time they talked, as he could recall, didn't end so well and hopefully, this would somehow make up for it.

"I won't be gone long." Ezra informed her.

"Ezra, sweetheart—" She called out before he could have the chance to leave. Seeing him give his full attention to her, she wrapped her arms around Daisy tighter and walked to him. "You are taking care of her, aren't you?"

Furrowing his brow, Ezra gestured at her daughter. "She's in one piece, isn't she?" He answered and smiled a bit.

"I meant your other girl." She pointed out and examined the look on his face. "It may not seem like it before, but I happen to like her very much." She admitted as she stole a glance at Daisy, pretending for a second that she was Aria, and of course, in a way, the little girl was.

The truth was she never fully accepted the relationship her son had with Aria; she never really fully grasped the unorthodox and social abnormalcy of it, and sometimes she still couldn't, but each moment she had with Daisy had made her forget about all of those, and the only thought she could have was that Ezra was simply happy. And for a mother, her child's happiness was paramount.

She cleared her throat. "I suppose the reason for my telling you this is that you're different when she's around."

"And…how am I exactly different than before?" Ezra asked, crossing his arms above his chest as he displayed a clear curiosity for it.

She turned to Daisy and kissed her cheek. "He's entire." She whispered to her granddaughter.

_Ezra felt her fingers run through his hair and her weight pressuring down on him. Then to his blissful surprise, her lips was pressed against his, very lightly._

_"You're not even gonna say goodnight to me?" Aria's voice was hazy and he couldn't tell if that was his body gradually falling into a deep sleep or if she was just speaking softly._

_Ezra sensed that he was smiling a sleepy smile now. "Goodnight, Aria." He faintly breathed out before receiving another kiss from her. "Goodnight, Daisy." He added and could hear Aria laughing softly right after._

_Even with the proper goodnights, he could still feel Aria's weight on top and her giving him another kiss. Ezra felt the difference of the weight now that she was with child, and strangely enough, he preferred this - it felt more real, and if anybody asked him how it was different, it was something inexplicable._

_With his eyes kept closed, he felt another sensation - her lips brushing against his but this time, she was whispering something and he fought off the sleep in order to listen to her words._

_"Promise me something, will you?" He could hear Aria whispering against his mouth while her fingers continued to run through his hair. "Stay in love…for her sake."_

"Hey…" Wren let out and furrowed his brow at the sight of Aria standing before him, outside his apartment.

"Hey…" She began to say before getting slowly pulled by his embrace.

"I'm so sorry. I've been…out of it." He explained as she looked up at him, nodding understandingly. "Mostly packing." He gestured at the inside of his apartment.

"Packing for what?"

"I wanted to call you, but I—"

"You're leaving?" Aria asked, evidently hurt by the look on her face.

Wren pulled her inside and closed the door behind him. "I wanted to call you, but I wasn't sure if—"

"If what?" She cut in and lowered her brow at him. "You're leaving for London?"

"Aria, love, please listen, and listen well." He began to say. "I didn't want to impose…but I'm only leaving…" He licked his lips nervously. "If you come with me."

Drawing her head back, Aria raised her eyebrows this time. "To London?"

"Yes." He slowly smiled. "We could have a life there. A proper one." He proposed with new excitement brewing in his voice. "I'll take care of you, I promise. You can get back what you've lost. Start anew." He said softly and reached for her hand. "Except this time, it'll be with me." He smiled once more.

Aria swallowed hard and looked at him deeply. "How do you know I've lost anything?" She questioned, keeping her hazel eyes on his.

Pressing his lips together, Wren mentally cursed himself. "We've all lost something…haven't we?" He excused. "I'm not entirely innocent, Aria. I've figured you out. This isn't the kind of life you want…waiting tables? Riding the bus? Living alone in what used to be your apartment? You deserve so much more, you do and I hope you believe me when I say that. And I, with every fiber of my being, will try and give the life you want, the one you so knowingly deserve."

"Wren…" She breathed out, overwhelmed by all of this so they stayed in silence for a moment.

"Don't I make you happy?" He asked softly, his head tilted and round tame eyes locking into hers.

"You do." Aria nodded.

Wren let out a charming smile. "Then please come with me. One yes and we'll up and go. We don't need to bring anything other than a couple of days worth of clothing." He continued as he held her hands tighter. "Just a yes, Aria." He repeated and waited patiently for her answer.

She thought it over - his words regarding her life, and it was, in fact, not what she wanted at all and perhaps this was the change she needed. But even with that idea, it seemed hasty and too big of a leap. Aria studied Wren's face for a moment before telling him her decision.

Aria swallowed hard and shook her head before grabbing the sides of his face. Tiptoeing, she pressed her lips against his softly.

"_Yes…_" She whispered against his mouth before breaking out into a smile.


	20. Chapter 20

"…What's goin' on?" Spencer sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes for a moment before focusing them completely on Aria who seemed to be rummaging through her dresser. "What are you doing?"

"Morning…" Aria mumbled back. "I was just leaving…returning some stuff in your jewelry set." Aria explained as she turned to Spencer.

"Umm—" Spencer furrowed her brow and got up to walk to her. "What for?"

"I won't need them anymore." Aria simply replied and placed some earrings and rings inside the set.

Spencer watched her friend and saw a glimpse of a very familiar pair of earrings. "Whoa, whoa, no, no…that's yours." Spencer quickly pointed out as she stepped beside Aria, taking out the earrings. "These are yours, Aria." She repeated. "And why are you giving your stuff away?"

Taking the earrings for a second for a double check, Aria then lifted her eyes at Spencer. "You can have them." She extended her hand with the earrings.

"I don't want it. It's not mine. It was for you." Spencer insisted. "Where are you going? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were moving out…"

"I am." Aria said.

Spencer raised an eyebrow. "And…why would you do that? More importantly, _where_ are you moving?"

"I'm moving. With Wren." Aria revealed and looked at Spencer solidly, anticipating her friend's protest. "Don't try to change my mind. There's nothing you can say that will." Aria swallowed hard. "I'm leaving…and I'm leaving these behind as well." She pulled Spencer's hand and gave the earrings. "Why do we always have to be so dramatic? They're just earrings, Spence." Aria pointed out.

"_No!_ They're not!" Spencer yelled causing Aria to jump a bit. Composing herself, Spencer grabbed Aria's hands and placed the pair of earrings that had daisy flowers on the center.

_"I'll see you back at the hotel?" Graham questioned a very shell-shocked Spencer. Stepping closer to her, Graham placed a comforting kiss on her forehead. "It'll get better, Spencer. She's still here. Let's be glad for that, yes? Spencer?" He reassured her._

_"Yes, yes, I'll see you at the hotel." Spencer quickly responded without taking her eyes off of the room and soon, Graham had trailed off. Spencer took a deep breath and stepped into the room. A sense of relief washed over her as she saw Aria in bed, still breathing and asleep. Graham was right. It was better to know that she was here than not seeing her here at all._

_Sitting down, she took a look at Aria for a second. Yesterday had been emotionally exhausting - to find out that her friend did not have a single memory of her was more than one could take in, and there was also that nagging voice in the back of her head telling her that she was responsible for this loss. Not in the mood to mope over the events yesterday, Spencer found herself reaching for her friend's bag on the table. She didn't even know why she was looking through the bag - everything Aria needed, Spencer already knew._

_Taking out a pouch, Spencer unzipped it and saw the bracelet Spencer had given Aria for the baby shower. Raising her head to check on Aria again, Spencer swallowed hard and took the bracelet, skimming over the engraved letters that spelled out 'Daisy' and swiftly placed the bracelet inside her own purse. Checking the pouch again, a pair of earrings fell out and Spencer scanned them. After hearing some shuffling, Spencer hastily placed the earrings into the pouch and back into the purse before looking back at her waking friend._

Spencer clenched her jaw as she took long strides, her eyes scanning the faces of the nurses and doctors and hopefully she would catch the one she wanted to talk to. Reaching the service desk, Spencer cleared her throat as her chest heaved for a moment.

"Excuse me…" She began as politely as she could. "Hi." She flashed a quick smile for the lady behind the desk. "I'm a patient of Dr. Kingston's, Spencer Hastings." She informed her. "I can't seem to grab a hold of him. I was just wondering if he's in today."

"Actually, Dr. Kingston resigned a few days ago." The lady told Spencer.

"Oh, I…I didn't know that." Spencer slowly said and forced a smile.

"I'm sure I can try and contact him for you although I cannot guarantee he will pick up." The lady offered.

In response, Spencer shook her head vigorously. "It's alright. I'll—just go to my other doctor. He's American." She feigned a chuckle. "Thank you so much for your help." She added before digging for her phone in her bag. Glancing back at the service desk, Spencer sighed heavily and pressed the phone against her ear. "Ezra, pick up—damn it." She grumbled under her breath.

The bus let out a gray puff of smoke coming from the exhaust, followed by a screeching sound. Aria covered her mouth and glared at the bus as it drove off. That was one thing she sure was not going to miss, and hopefully, the pollution in London would somehow be less than in New York.

Aria peeled her eyes away from the bus and turned around, giving the old apartment building a good look - with a certain feeling that this would be the last time for her to absorb in the details of the bricks, the brittle painted trims of each window shutter, the vast glow of sunshine hiding behind the tall building as it slowly shied away onto another building, and at last, the people inside the apartment - the last concept she would ever get to have, the image of tenants living their life inside each room as they remained shut out from the outside world, luckily the shutting out was only momentarily for most of the tenants although she could think of a certain man with a certain daughter who seemed to be just on the fence; shut out from the future and only dwelling on the past, and sometimes the present.

Taking the back stairs and climbing up to the second floor, Aria had planned to finish off her second errand before saying her last goodbye to the building. It didn't take much explanation to get her objective across, seeing as she wrote it in a letter that had been dropped off into the landlord's mailbox just moments ago. The letter was frank and clear; she was moving to another country, the apartment was no longer needed, and she thanked the landlord for the wonderful service, apologized for the fire, and had hoped he would understand her leaving. In light of that, her contract was to end soon so to cover that part, she had left a couple of hundred bucks left in her savings for him, more than enough to compensate for her sudden departure.

Aria took out the spare key and walked into the apartment, and felt her dismay when she saw that Ezra was not home; she wanted to speak with him one last time, face-to-face, and also give the little girl a proper goodbye. Walking to the living room, she reached for her purse, took out another envelope and put the spare key inside. Placing the envelope on the table, Aria breathed deeply before heading for the door.

"It's your lucky day!" Her voice gleefully exclaimed as soon as the door opened. Aria recoiled for a second and watched Emily pick up a designed cardboard box from the floor. "I made your favorite, attempted to…anyway—" Emily rambled on before lifting her eyes at Aria. With furrowed brow, Emily stood still as she held an unopened box of chocolate cream pie, intended for Ezra and Daisy.

The girls held eyes, wondering who would be first to ask the question they both wanted to ask each other.

"What are you doing here?"

"I think you know exactly why I'm here." Ezra stated before stepping into Wren's apartment, leaving the door wide open.

Wren turned around and shut his eyes - only wishing that once he turned back around, Ezra would disappear, but, like most of his recent wishes, this one did not come true.

"Ezra, mate, I—"

"No. You don't get to speak." Ezra cut off. "I trusted Aria, but don't think for a second that that meant I trusted you as well." He began as Wren rubbed his face out of frustration. "I _tolerated_ you." Ezra threw his hand before him. "Into my life and into hers. I just never thought that you would take advantage of that."

"I never took advantage of anybody. I sure as hell _never_ took advantage of her when you two were together." Wren defended.

Ezra stepped closer to him. "You think this isn't taking advantage of her now?"

"She's happy. She's happy with me."

"She wouldn't be if she knew the truth."

"What truth?!" Wren retorted. "There _is_ no truth! Don't you see?! What you had with her is gone. _Everything_ you had with her—" He gestured with his hand. "It doesn't matter anymore. The apartment, the first day you met, the fucking! They don't exist. Can't you accept that?" Wren licked his lips and lowered his voice a bit. "It doesn't exist for her anymore, Ezra."

"It exists for me." Ezra said simply, knowing that the reason was enough.

He held onto that belief - that anything was real, could be _made_ real as long as it was real for someone; the belief that memories, but more importantly, love did not have to be a two-way street. The simple and fundamental truth remained - one was still capable of loving someone, that a memory was still a memory that took place even when it had been forgotten, much like loving, unrequitedly so, it did not take away the authenticity of the feeling, the fact was one _could_ love another and the sincerity of such love was as genuine as any other despite its lack of reciprocation.

Spencer followed the muffled voices coming from the hallway. "C'mon…" She muttered as she glanced at the apartment doors, reading the numbers. She thought for a second, wondering why she ever listened to Ezra. "Stay in the car?" She whispered harshly. "While you go murder someone? And have me guilty by association? Yeah, right." Spencer continued to ramble as she walked with haste, hoping to find Wren's apartment, and also hoping that Ezra had not made the mistake of hurting the man - not because she didn't want to see Wren hurt; when it came to punishing Wren after what he had done, she would have been sitting in the first row, awaiting for the tormenting play to begin. But logically, the damage would only backfire on Ezra.

"I was…giving the spare key back." Aria informed Emily while they remained in the narrow corridor, seemingly without any plans of walking deeper into the apartment.

Emily squinted for a second. "Oh, don't let me interrupt you." She smiled. "I kinda just wanted to leave this here." She raised the pie box. "I was hoping he'd be in today."

"Me too." Aria let out a sigh. "Well, if you see him again, can you pass my goodbye to him? And Daisy." She offered a bittersweet smile.

"You're leaving?" Emily asked, a little bit surprised.

"For Europe." Aria announced with a grin and a quick arch of the eyebrows.

"Oo, very nice…" Emily nodded a bit, arguing with herself wondering whether it was appropriate to pry. Clearing her throat, Emily forced a smile. "I—uh…I actually traveled around there for a bit…during college. It was a long time ago." She chuckled softly. "I…I remember liking London a lot though. The weather, very rainy but you know, it was kinda tranquil."

"Yeah? That's good. I like the rain." Aria stated with a friendly smile stuck on her face.

"Oh, so you're heading for London?" Emily asked casually.

"Mhm-mhm." Aria answered.

"Alone? That's very brave and adventurous of you." Emily fished more.

Aria instantly protested with a light laugh. "No, no, no. I am not, at all, those things." She grinned. "My boyfriend is from there. He's taking me with him." Aria cleared up.

Emily pressed her lips together and glanced behind her, checking the door before she faced Aria again. "Umm, how about we have a drink to that before you leave? I'm sure Ezra wouldn't mind." Emily offered as she took Aria's hands and led the way to the kitchen.

"I don't drink...I mean, I shouldn't right now." Aria told Emily. "And I should…probably get back, I haven't even finished packing." She excused.

Emily stared at her and contemplated her words. "Listen, you can't go." Emily declared causing Aria to cock an eyebrow at her. "…Perhaps you should…wait for Ezra to get back? Say goodbye to him yourself? He would want that, right?"

"My flight is in a few hours actually…" Aria countered. "I mean, I'd love to stay for a bit but my schedule is kind of tight right now. Ezra will understand. He always does." Aria nodded confidently.

Emily bit her lip and shook her head vigorously. "You can't go, Aria." She walked to her.

"Why not?…" Aria asked, feeling extremely uncomfortable now.

"Because…" Emily clenched her jaw and sighed heavily as Aria looked at her quizzically. "Because…he loved you first." Emily revealed and swallowed hard as soon as the words came out.

Wren sighed and fixed his eyes on the ground, staying quiet for a while as Ezra waited for him to say something. Looking up at him, Wren shrugged his shoulders. "I love her." He told Ezra who scoffed at him.

"You don't love her, Wren." Ezra countered. "You love the concept of her."

"You don't understand."

"I do. Completely, I do."

"No, you don't. You _can't_ because you've always had her!" Wren argued. "You didn't have to go around spending time with a woman you can't be with, someone who was so painstakingly ideal yet so _fucking_ unattainable. For_ years._ Because _you_ were there!" Wren admitted. "Do you know how agonizing it was when she told me that you two were having a child? Because I knew that that was it. Every time I looked at Daisy, even the slightest thought of her, she reminded me of the thing that I didn't want to be reminded of the most. I couldn't look at her. That little girl, for fuck's sake, she made it so sincere, as if what you two had was sincere."

"As if?" Ezra lowered his eyebrow and took a closer and menacing step to Wren. "It was the most sincere thing I've ever had!"

"Ezra—" Spencer jumped in, entering the apartment. "Oh good, I got the right apartment." Running to him, Spencer faced Ezra. "Let's go. Hmm?"

"I told you…to stay in the car." Ezra whispered calmly.

"Look, there's no point in talking to this asshole, okay?" Spencer told him as Wren tilted his head at her. "Let's just…let's find her. That's what matters. Right?" Spencer continued, looking at Ezra intently as he ultimately nodded.

Ezra faced Wren once more. "You can love her, care for her, make her happy for years to come, but you will never have what she had with me." Ezra stated. "Everything you've got to offer will never amount to the love I gave her in one day."

Wren swallowed hard and kept his deep round eyes on Ezra before the apartment emptied out, leaving him on his own.

_She laughed whole-heartedly as Daisy continued to press her open mouth against Aria's cheek, kissing or rather eating away as she drooled all over the surface._

_"What has gotten into her? Did you teach her this?!" Aria giggled as Daisy lightly grabbed some strands of Aria's hair while she continued on squealing and slobbering all over her mother's face._

_"Me? I'm pretty certain that's how you kiss. Nothing but pure wet slop. Like a St. Bernard." Ezra joked as he zoomed in on Daisy and Aria's cheek. "Ohhh—" He groaned and scrunched his face. "Look at all that saliva." Ezra continued to film and faked gagging noises._

_Aria glared at him. "Shut up." She laughed softly once more before Daisy pulled away, her tiny hands still around Aria's hair. "Oh, sweetie, what did you do to my face? Are you happy? Are you full?" She joked as she looked at her daughter. "What have you done to my sweet baby girl?" Aria grinned and kissed Daisy on the forehead as they remained in bed. The evident sunshine glowing through the windows, giving off the feeling that it was the weekend and this was what they tended to do every morning ever since Daisy had entered their lives._

"What the hell is this?" Aria whispered and looked at Emily.

"…Oh shit." Emily muttered under her breath. "I'm sorry—" Emily brought her hands up to her head. "You needed to know, okay?" She defended. "Ezra's gonna kill me." She said to herself.

"That's not me." Aria fixed her eyes on the television before going up to the disc player to turn it off. "That's not me." She repeated as she began to breathe raggedly. "I would have remembered." She told herself.

Emily licked her lips and waited for something to happen, seeing as she had done enough to cause trouble. But instead Aria remained kneeling in front of the television. "Aria, listen—-" Emily began to say as she closed in on her.

"Please leave." Aria interrupted and turned around to face Emily. "Please…leave."

"I didn't mean—"

"I'd like to be alone…please." Aria swallowed down the lump forming deep into her throat and did her best to compose herself, not wanting to break down in front of someone she did not know well. "Can you please just go? I'm sorry, but I'd like to be alone right now." Aria requested once more while Emily nodded submissively in response.

As soon as she heard the door close, Aria opened the drawer where the discs remained hidden and took them all out. Grabbing a random one, she placed it into the player as quickly as possible and began to watch it.

_"Say hi to the camera, bug."_

_"Oh, c'mon, Ezra, not now."_

Aria inhaled sharply at the sound of her own voice saying his name. Reaching for the disc player, she pressed the fast-forward button, only stopping whenever her face was fully on camera. "Oh fuck—" Aria let out, seeing her face, finally taking in the fact that this was her and nobody else.

_"I've always hated that camera."_

_"One day, this thing will be in your favor."_

Aria swallowed hard and pressed the button once more, stopping at certain points.

_Smiling, Aria moved close to the camera. "Goodnight, you." She said as she kissed the lens._

Rummaging through the disc cases, Aria's eyes had caught the title written on the spine of the case.

Aria watched herself opening the boxes that led to smaller boxes. The camera focused on her face and the gift, and the voices, she knew were of Ezra and Spencer. Gasping quietly, Aria stared at the daisy earrings on the screen, held by her own hands.

_"I thought this was a baby shower, not my birthday."_

Aria reached forward, switching off the player and the television. After putting back the discs into the drawer, for quite some time, she stayed kneeling in front of the screen, ruminating and collecting herself. At first, she could not grasp the fact that they would do something like this - keep an immeasurable secret to her, to deprive her of an original happiness that she so rightly deserved and had from the very start. Naturally, she felt betrayed by the two people she never thought could actually do such thing. Her own best friend, the one who insisted on Aria to telling everything when she herself had not been honest in return. And to Ezra, especially him, how could he ever allow this to happen? How was he able to let her go with another man when she had already a seemingly untainted and paradisiac relationship with him and Daisy. What was he going to say to justify himself? That he had loved her so fervently and wanted to see her happy, that he was perhaps willing to be a martyr and risk it all for her happiness? No, that was not a good enough reason, not even a reason at all for Aria. Because one thing he had underestimated out of all this was that Aria could grow to love him. She would rather suffer with him than be happy with anyone else.

"I have to drive back to my mother's and pick up Daisy." Ezra informed Spencer as they idled in front of Spencer's apartment building.

"Can't we find Aria first?"

"Look for her in the city?" Ezra shot her an incredulous look. "We're not going to find her. And right now, I think it's best that I get my daughter. She's…" He heaved in a breath.

Spencer nodded to herself. "It's fine. I'll look for her. Maybe—maybe she's upstairs, in her room. If she is, I'll tie her down until—"

"Until what?" Ezra cut in and shook his head at her. "We got it all wrong, Spencer. She wouldn't forgive us for this and I can't blame her."

Spencer shifted in her seat and faced him completely. "Ezra, Aria is _not_ going anywhere."

Hearing her familiar footsteps, Wren turned his head and smiled at the sight. "Hey, I got worried. I thought you weren't coming back." Wren said as he carried out a couple of bags into the hallway.

Aria approached him. "Sorry. I got hungry and decided to grab a bite on the way." She said with a reserved smile. "When's our flight again?"

"In an hour. Cab's actually waiting for us right now. He's downstairs." He told her as she simply nodded. Locking the apartment, Wren took a double take at Aria and noticed that she only had a purse with her. "Are you all set?"

"Mhm-mhm." She mumbled and gave him another smile.

Wren, tilting his head, walked up to her. "You've no idea how happy you've made me." He declared before leaning in to kiss her.

_"Aw, why don't you take a gander at this beauty, yeah? Look at her!" Wren approached Ezra in the bathroom and attempted to show off their new video camera. "I got it to work. No sweat. Absolutely no sweat! The things we learn in medical school, eh?" He turned the camera to his face and grinned confidently._

_"That's great, man." Ezra said, the smile in his voice sounding prominent. "How's the audio?"_

_"Seems to be working, so far…" Wren examined the camera and soon focused it on Ezra who was busy stocking up the bathroom drawer. "You look like my mum right now. Camera really does add ten pounds." Wren joked and peeked his head in. "What are you bothering yourself with over there anyway? Come here and have a try at the damn gem. I spent a bloody fortune on this."_

_Ezra showed a prescription bag to the camera. "Safety first." Wren smiled and focused the camera on the prescription bag with Aria's name on it._

_"Ahh, asthma…takes your breath away, doesn't it?" Wren laughed at himself._

_"I thought the Brits were supposed to be funny people."_

_"Well, I try not to conform with the stereotypes."_

_"Oh, is that it? Nonconformism? Well then, keep it up with the jokes. You're doing good so far."_

_"Where's your girl anyway?"_

_"In the bedroom."_

_"Asleep? At four in the afternoon?" Wren widened his eyes. "One couldn't possibly sleep that long."_

_"One can when one is hungover." _

_"Ah, luckily, I know the perfect remedy for that."_

_"Which is?"_

_"Screaming." Wren gave another grin. "Good morning, New York!"_

_"She'll kill you…" Ezra warned in a singsong voice._

_"It's alright. I'm a doctor." He quipped as he trailed off into the bedroom; the camera shot followed his feet and once he had entered the room - the focus moved to Aria's face as she slowly woke up, spoiling Wren's surprise. "Ah, you've botched my plan! He shouted dramatically. "Do me a favor and go back to sleep."_

_Aria, squinting, waved her hand dismissively at him, shooing him away. "No foreigners allowed in this room." She mumbled as she climbed out of bed._

"Hello." Wren watched Aria glancing out of the window as the cab drove and swerved through the traffic. "How was lunch?" He questioned as he grabbed his backpack, placing the plane tickets inside the small pocket.

Aria licked her lips and turned to him. "It was good." She answered as she fidgeted with her hands and easily, Wren looked down and caught it.

"You okay?" He asked and held her hands.

"It's just strange." She let out and forced a smile for him.

"What is?"

"Moving to another country. For good." Aria told him. "I mean…I don't know—" She looked at him deeply. "I suppose I was just used to you being the foreigner."

Wren stared back quietly and glanced outside the window while the stoplight remained red.

After an hour of rocking her gently to sleep, Ezra carefully put Daisy in her crib. As she settled down, without much fuss, Ezra leaned close and plainly watched her. He wondered for a moment how it would be like to see her grow up without her mother. He always knew it wasn't impossible to raise her alone; he felt sufficient enough anyway, after all these months of being a single parent - he had gotten used to it, but just because someone was used to something did not mean they did not prefer something else; there was always something else to prefer, and for him, it was Aria.

"I'm sorry." Ezra said as if Daisy could understand, and a part of him was apologizing for the future Daisy, for the teenager Daisy who would spend most of her time wondering what if, and the middle-aged Daisy who spent half her life not having a chance to know the person she needed to know the most.

Ezra walked toward the wall, dimming the lights, and left the door slightly opened. Ambling to the living room, Ezra caught the blinking phone machine indicating a missed call. The blinking continued, bothering him to no end so he went to it, and played the message.

_'...I may have done something to upset you. I'm sorry, Ezra. I know it wasn't my right to say, but it just came out.'_

Ezra creased his eyebrows at the sound of Emily's concerned tone of voice. The right thing to do was call her, but at the moment, he wanted to clear his head and be left alone to wallow, and hope for the day to start from the beginning because perhaps things would go a little differently then.

Sitting on the couch, Ezra looked over at the coffee table and saw the envelope. Reaching for it, he discovered the spare key he had given Aria which only made things more real; the reality that she had left for the second time. After reading her farewell letter, he placed the envelope back on the table and his ears perked up at the sound of someone knocking on the door.

Opening the door, Ezra inhaled deeply. "You're back." He watched her nod shyly.

"My flight got cancelled." Aria spoke softly.

_Wren sat forward and leaned in closer to the driver. "Excuse me sir, could you just pull over?" He asked and instantly, the cab driver had found an empty spot where he could pull over with ease._

_"What's going on?" Aria furrowed her brow as Wren got out of the cab._

_Wren put his hands over his head, pondering for a moment while Aria got out too, confused more than ever. "I'm sorry—" He told her as Aria walked around the cab to get closer to him. "You were always so kind and wonderful, and...if you only knew who you really were, you couldn't blame me for doing this. You couldn't blame any man if they had met you." _

_Aria walked and shook her head. "Oh, Wren...not you too..."_

_"I couldn't help it." Wren swallowed hard. "I didn't want to help it. You. Aria Montgomery. The photojournalist…" He pressed his lips together. "The girlfriend...the mother." He went on. "How could I ever give you up?" Wren admitted and rubbed his face with both hands, feeling a weight off of his being. He looked at her for a while as she took in the overwhelming truth coming from his mouth. "You were just this nice, funny, easy going college girl I met years ago. The girl who gave me so much more than a biology book." He recalled the first day they met and would always retract to it whenever he had the chance because it was in fact one of his fondest memories of her. "I wish you could remember how lovely you were."_

_"Me too." Aria replied and lifted her wet eyes at him. "I guess I won't be getting on that plane, hmm?" She smiled sadly._

_Wren stepped closer to her, cupping the sides of her face. "...He beat me to you."_

Laughing softly, Ezra grabbed the empty plate and watched her finish her last bite of the cream pie.

"We have to call Emily and have her make us another one of these." Aria pointed out.

"She's a great baker."

Aria nodded in full agreement. "She's an angel." She told him and in return, Ezra smiled without a protest. "Is Daisy asleep?" Aria asked.

"She is." Ezra answered. "How about this? You check up on her while I clean up the table, and once you come back, we can...talk more, have a drink or coffee, whatever mood you're in for." He suggested.

"Sounds good." Aria smiled and got up, heading off to the bedroom and feeling Ezra's eyes on hers - and it felt nice for once, knowing who he really was and_ what_ he really was. Entering the bedroom, Aria felt a new sense of familiarity - realizing that she had been here way before she even knew of this building, and she also knew that she had been in this room many many times, perhaps she had done a lot more than checking up on her daughter. She glanced at the bed, wanting to see if anything would trigger back to her - a wishful thinking at best, but alas, there was nothing except an imagined occurrence in her head, an intimate idea between her and Ezra taking place in it.

Approaching Daisy, Aria leaned down and took a good look at the baby's face. "Why didn't you say anything?" Aria asked quietly as possible, afraid that Ezra would hear from the other room.

Exhaling sharply, Ezra skimmed the living room and glanced at the hallway near the main bedroom. Then his eyes landed on the television, the drawer skewed at the tiniest angle. Bringing his eyes back to the hallway, Ezra furrowed his brow for a moment and a few seconds later, Aria had come out from the bedroom.

"Still asleep." She announced quietly with a warm smile on her face.

Ezra beamed at her. "Surprise, surprise." He responded.

"It's uh..." Aria cleared her throat, getting the nervous tick out of her voice. "It's getting late."

"Right." Ezra quickly answered and did not exactly know what to do or what _she_ was planning or implying to do next.

"I should go." Aria said. "Back at Spencer's for the meantime." She added.

"Of course." Ezra forced himself to say and walked Aria to the front door.

As they stood under the doorway, Aria sighed. "Can I ask you something? Before I go?" Aria began; telling herself that if he could answer this, then her decision would be made, and she wished, wanted him deeply and truly wanted him to answer it, without any catch or hesitance, just a plain and honest answer.

"Okay." Ezra played along.

"Daisy's mother..." Aria let out and saw the pang of anxiety shot through his face for a fleeting second. "You never told me her name."

This time, Ezra had managed to keep an unfaltering façade that not even she could decipher.

"...Umm-" He stalled for a moment, his mouth felt cemented on the spot.

Aria shook her head. "It's okay. I already know." Aria peeled her eyes off of him and concentrated on the ground. "...I just wanted to hear you say it." She brought her attention back to him and gave a shrug.

"Stay the night." He proposed as he reached for her arm, pulling her back inside gingerly. "And the night after that, and the week after..." He continued and dipped down to kiss her. "I love you to the very marrow..."

"I already knew that too."

"Just don't tell her." Ezra felt her lips form into a smile. "I'll never hear the end of it."

* * *

***** AUTHOR'S NOTE:  
**  
**See? I'm not a monster. :D This has always been the ending I wanted. Have a little faith you guys...especially you Guest (if you can even read this seeing as you claim to never reading this story anymore but I'll just call your bluff lol) a little harsh of a review, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. :P**

**Also, I'd be more than glad to post an extra page ONLY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE ANY QUESTIONS about the story (this happened on my last story that I completed so I thought it'd be a good idea?) that and so I can reply to your reviews as well. **

**Thank you for reading. As always. - Queen**


	21. Author's Note

**Author's note:**

Hello and thank you for the reviews.

A few people asked for an epilogue, or a sequel...but sadly, I don't think I'm going to write one (though I've thought about writing a short epilogue) but I've already written everything I wanted and needed to write for Aria and Ezra in this particular story - I wasn't intending to really focus on their life with Daisy as she grows up, that would take forever. So, I'm sorry but I just gotta leave the rest to your imagination.

**caligirl28: But how come Aria went with Wren even after she knew the truth...?**

Well, I'd say the truth hasn't hit her yet. She did love Wren so it's not easy to just let him go like that although she was thinking about it during the cab ride, but you know, it just didn't set in yet - that's the easiest way I can explain it. :)

**fanpire101: though I do wish someone had walloped Wren at least once...**

Noooo, I love Wren hahaha, mostly because Julian Morris is so damn attractive.

**And a few asked about the last line:****_ "Just don't tell her. I'll never hear the end of it."_**

That was a joke. Don't tell her (her as in Aria) about us or she'll nag me about it...which wouldn't make sense because she _is_ Aria.

**poisonwine: Will Aria forgive Spencer?**

Yes. I mean, if she could forgive Ezra (her _own boyfriend_ lying to her about their relationship) then how much more with Spencer - who was only trying to protect her? So I'd say yes. Plus...I'm a Sparia shipper. I would never break them up. :P

**Jullie: Are you planning on writing another story?**

Of course! But right now, I have three stories in my head and I don't know which one to start, and I don't know when I'll start it so there might be a long wait. :(

Again, thank you very much.

- Queen


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